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Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
Glucose tolerance status associates with improvements in cognitive function following high-intensity exercise in
Gregory N Ruegsegger1, Emily R Ekholm1, Chandler E Monroe1
1Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, A173 Falcon Center, 410 S. 3rd St., River Falls, WI, 54022, United States.
Purpose:
Obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and proinflammatory cytokines associate with cognitive decline. Numerous studies document cognitive benefits of acute exercise bouts in lean individuals. However, how co-morbidities such as obesity and IR influence cognitive changes induced by acute exercise is unclear. We examined the effects of acute high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive function in age-matched and BMI-matched obese adults with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and in lean, NGT adults.
Methods:
49 adults (15 Lean, 18 Obese-NGT, 16 Obese-IGT) performed one session of high-intensity interval exercise (four cycles of 4-min at 75% Wmax with 3-min rest). Cognitive function testing and blood sampling were performed pre- and post-exercise.
Results:
Following exercise, measurements of executive function and working memory were improved in Lean and Obese-NGT (p < 0.05), but not Obese-IGT. Changes in cognitive function following exercise negatively correlated with 2-hr glucose during an OGTT after controlling for body weight and body composition (rp = -0.40, p = 0.007). Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and CRP remained increased 60-minutes post-exercise in Obese-IGT, but not in Lean or Obese-NGT, which positively associated with 2-hr glucose during an OGTT (p < 0.01) and negatively with changes in cognitive function following exercise (p < 0.01). Greater insulin levels in Obese-IGT post-exercise also negatively correlated with changes in cognitive function following exercise (p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Improvements in cognition following acute high-intensity exercise positively associate with glucose tolerance, independent of body weight and body composition. Further, poorer changes in cognitive performance following exercise associate with persistent peripheral inflammation.
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