Effect of High Intensity Training on Serum TNFα in Obese Children

The prevalence of children’s obesity, and thus cardiovascular diseases, is rapidly increasing and it is known that exercises have beneficial effects on losing weight and accordingly decreases of cardiovascular system. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of eight weeks of High Intensity Training (HIT) on TNFα in obese children.
A total of 34 obese children were randomly divided into two groups of experimental, with the mean age of 9.58±0.35 and Body Mass Index (BMI) 30.89±0.95 and control, with the mean age of 9.51±0.48 and BMI 29.89±0.81. For 8 weeks, 3 sessions a week, participants performed HIT, including bouts of 30s with maximal speed and 1.5 min active rest between them. The number of bouts increased from 6 in the first week to 10 in the latter week. Blood samples were obtained 48 hours before and after performing the protocol and serum was separated and then levels of serum TNFα were measured and quantified using ELISA. SPSS, version 20, was used to analyse the data.
Data analysis revealed a significant decrease in serum TNFα and BMI before and after doing HIT.
High intensity training results in the reduction of BMI and body weight. Due to the strong relationship between BMI and selected TNFα, HIT, via reduced fat mass, causes decrease of serum TNFα in children, and this reduction can effectively prevent, control, and reduce the number of cardiovascular diseases. So, doing HIT cautiously can bring about benefits in obese children.