Investigation the effects of two long-term and short-term high-intensity interval training on some inflammatory and immune indices in overweight adolescent boys

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with mild and chronic inflammation. The purpose of this study is to ivestigate the effect of two long-term and short-term high-intensity interval training on inflammatory indicators such as TNF-α  IL-1β, SFRP5, CTRP12, and also on the number of lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils in overweight adolescent boys.

In a quasi-experimental study, 30 Overweight boys (18-13 years old, mean height 154.33 cm, mean body mass index 27.05 kg/m2) were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 people including short-term (9 sessions of 30-second training with 150-second rest), long-term (4 sessions of 150-second training with 240-second rest), and control group. The training groups performed high-intensity running sprints 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA (3 groups×2 measurement times) and Bonferroni test.

After eight weeks of long-term and short-term high-intensity interval training, the serum levels of TNF-α (P=0.001) and IL-1β (P=0.001) in the training groups decreased significantly compared to the control group. Also, the serum levels of SFRP5 (P=0.041) and CTRP12 (P=0.001) increased significantly in the training groups compared to the control group. However, a non-significant increase in the number of lymphocytes (P=0.064), monocytes (P=0.450) and neutrophils (P=0.190) in the exercise groups compared to the control group was observed after the implementation of long-term and short-term interval training.

According to the result of the this study, eight weeks of high-intensity interval training in the short-term and long-term reduces the levels of some pro-inflammatory factors and increases the levels of some anti-inflammatory factors, but has no effect on the function of the immune system.