Introduction:

Obese subjects exhibit a decreased functional capacity (FC) which, among other factors, entails a slower oxygen uptake kinetics associated to a pathological relationship between the adipose tissue and a chronically-deregulated autonomic nervous system, both in resting and exercise conditions.

Objective:

To analyze the fast-tau behavior of the oxygen consumption off-kinetics, after applying a high intensity and short duration intervallic exercise protocol (HIIT) in a group of obese men.

Methodology:

An exploratory, comparative, experimental and longitudinal short-term study of 5 obese subjects, selected by intentional non-probabilistic sampling, was designed. Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, kinetics of oxygen consumption and variables related to the procedure were assessed. Data from VO2 v/s time were compiled with Graph Pad Prism v. 6.01 by averaging 10-second intervals and fitted as a bi-exponential model. Subsequently, a descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SigmaPlot v. 12.5, calculating means, standard deviations and ranks.

Results:

Mean age was 25.13 ± 0.62 years. Highest variation when analyzing the results, in both phases of the study (pre-intervention: 43.09 ± 7.78 s; post-intervention: 26.85 ± 3.78 s), was found in the fast VO2 tau (p=0.034).

Conclusion:

The high-intensity, short-duration training performed over a 10-day period, achieves a positive effect on the rapid kinetic component of VO2 for the studied population, improving recovery time after physical exertion.