Influence of high-intensity intermittent training on glycolipid metabolism in obese male college students

Background: Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease that increases the risk of developing health problems including respiratory disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. In college students, as well as impacting physical health, obesity can also affect mental health and even students' future careers. Aerobic exercise is an effective way of achieving weight loss; however, for some students, it cannot be maintained over the long term. This study aimed to observe and analyze the influence of high-intensity intermittent training on glycolipid metabolism in obese male college students.

Methods: A total of 300 obese male college students were enrolled in the study and were randomly divided into the study group and the control group (150 cases in each group). Over 12 weeks, the control group was given routine aerobic exercise intervention, while the study group was given high-intensity intermittent training. The blood sugar level, blood lipid level, and body measurements of the students were measured before and after intervention and compared between the two groups.

Results: After 12 weeks of intervention, the body weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI), body fat rate (BFR), serum level of insulin, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) of the college students were significantly lower than before intervention, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in body weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, BMI, or BFR between the two groups (P>0.05). The study group had significantly lower serum levels of TC, TG, and insulin than the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).

Conclusions: Aerobic exercise and high-intensity intermittent training both significantly improved the body shape of obese male college students. However, high-intensity intermittent training improved the glycolipid metabolism of obese male college students to a greater extent than aerobic exercise did.

Keywords: Obesity; aerobic exercise; body shape; glycolipid metabolism; high-intensity intermittent training; male college students.