The Impact of Exercise Snacking on Body Composition and Cardiovascular Function Indicators in Obese College Students

Objective        This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise snacking (ES) on body composition, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), and serum resistin in male and female obese college students.Material and methods    A total of 50 male and 50 female college students, each with a body mass index (BMI) ≥28 kg / m², were enrolled in the study. The male and female groups were each further divided into an exercise snacking group (ES group, n=25) and a moderate-intensity, continuous training group (MICT group, n=25). The ES group conducted two 5 min high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions and one 30 min session of aerobic exercise incorporating HIIT elements daily, while the MICT group performed 45 min of running at the maximal fat-burning intensity each day. All participants were tested for body composition, including body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat mass (BFM), trunk fat mass (TFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), arterial stiffness, and serum resistin concentrations before and after a 12 wk exercise program. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV).Results    After the exercise program, the ES and the MICT groups both had reduced BW, BMI, BFM, and TFM (p<0.01). Only in the ES group, were significant changes observed in SMM, cfPWV, and serum resistin, (p<0.01). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that for obese male students, changes in serum resistin correlated positively with cfPWV (r=0.67, p<0.01) and negatively with the increase in muscle mass (r=-0.68, p<0.01). For obese female students, changes in serum resistin tended to show a positive correlation with TFM, however, no statistically significant difference was observed (r=0.35, p=0.09). There was a positive correlation with cfPWV (r=0.44, p<0.05), and a negative correlation with the increase in muscle mass (r=-0.90, p<0.01).Conclusion    An ES protocol can serve as an effective exercise strategy to help obese college students significantly improve their body composition and cfPWV indicators of arterial stiffness.