The effects of exercise training under mild hypoxic conditions on body composition and circulating adiponectin in...

This study aimed to examine the effects of exercise training under mild hypoxic conditions on body composition and circulating adiponectin levels in postmenopausal women.

Fourteen postmenopausal women (56 ± 1 years) were assigned to a normoxic (N group) or hypoxic (H group) exercise group. Aquatic exercise training was performed at an intensity of 50% peak oxygen uptake level for 30 min per training session, 4 days per week, for 8 weeks. The H group performed the exercise under hypobaric hypoxic conditions, which corresponds to 2000 m above sea level, and each participant was exposed to these conditions for 2 h per session.

After the training, no significant changes were observed in any of the measured values for the N group. Conversely, body mass (57·3 ± 2·5 to 54·5 ± 2·3 kg), body mass index (24·6 ± 0·8 to 23·4 ± 0·7 kg m^-2 ), body fat (30·7 ± 1·9 to 28·1 ± 1·6%) and preperitoneal fat thickness as an index of visceral fat accumulation (10·3 ± 1·7 to 6·4 ± 1·0 mm) significantly reduced only in the H group. Circulating adiponectin levels significantly increased (9·5 ± 1·8 to 11·4 ± 2·0 μg ml^-1 ), and the changes in adiponectin were significantly correlated with those in body mass (r = -0·81) and body mass index (r = -0·85).

These results suggest that exercise training under mild hypoxic conditions could more effectively reduce body fat and increase adiponectin levels in postmenopausal women in a shorter period, than exercise training in normoxia.