Cardiovascular Risk Factors and their Responses to a 10 Weeks Training Program in Young Qatari Adults

Abstract

Rapid development in Qatar in recent years has led to numerous changes, particu- Article History larly the increased prevalence of lifestyle related health risks, with almost 50% obesity rates Received: June 28th, 2015 amongst Qataris of all ages. We investigated the effects of a 10-week exercise training program Accepted: August 4th, 2015 aimed at young Qatari adults, on a number of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. With Published: August 4th, 2015 Qatar University IRB approval, we screened 158 (89 males, 69 females) Qatari student vol- unteers from Qatar University for CVD factors of hypertension indicated by Systolic Blood Citation Pressure (BPS) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (BPD), overweight and obesity indicated by Body Kneffel Z, Goebel R, Alkhatib A. Fat percentage (%BF), Body Weight (BW) and Body Mass Index (BMI). Thirty six partici- Cardiovascular factors and risk pants (23% of total number) were identified with one or more risk factors (hypertension and their responses to a 10 weeks train- overweight), and were enrolled to follow a 10-week recreational-type exercise training pro- ing program in young Qatari adults. Obes Res Open J. 2015; 2(2): 57-63. gram. The training involved 30-45 min of either walking, cycling, jogging and swimming at an exercise intensity corresponding to 50-85% of each participant’s maximum heart rate, on 3-5 times/week. The intervention significantly reduced BW (93.4±14.1 vs. 86.7±14.5, and p<0.05), BMI (31.0±3.6 vs. 28.7±3.9, p<0.05) and BF% (31.2±9.0 vs. 21.2±4.4, p<0.05) in males, and there was a significant reduction in BPD (83.4±5.3 vs. 76.0±9.2 mm Hg, p<0.05). The effects in female participants were not significant. This recreational-type exercise intervention was ef- fective in substantially reducing the CVD indices. However, the alarmingly high prevalence of sedentary-related CVD risks amongst Qatari young adults, especially those related to obesity, overweight and hypertension necessitate further public health interventions in this age-group as an early prevention strategy.