Efeitos de diferentes tipos de treinamento físico no metabolismo, desenvolvimento físico e reprodutivo de ratos Wistar superalimentados na infância

Abstract

Background: Obesity is associated with several comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and may have its origin in early life stages, such as in the lactation period, through metabolic programming. Physical activity aids in decreasing the chances of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, even with small weight losses and, in children, can play an essential role in preventing weight gain and other health problems. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of moderate intensity endurance training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols on obesity-related parametersand cardiorespiratory capacityin overfed Wistar rats throughout the breastfeeding period. Methods: Two days after birth, forty male and forty female Wistar rats were clustered into two groups: Control Litter Group (CL; ten animals/litter) and Reduced Litter Group (RL; four animals/litter). At weaning (21th day), RL animals were distributed randomly into three experimental groups: sedentary, moderate intensity endurance training and HIIT, while CL animals were clustered into a sedentary group. The training lasted eight weeks, often three times a week. Cardiorespiratory capacity, body weight, food intake, serological biochemistry, glucose and insulin tolerance tests and quantification of retroperitoneal and perigonadal fat were performed. Aiming to detect possible alterations in RL animals, comparisons between CLSed groups and their respective RLSed groups were carried out by applying a t-Student or Mann–Whitney test. Regarding possible alterations between sex and types of training, a two-way ANOVA was applied, while a oneway ANOVA, followed by a Tuckey post hoc test was applied when comparing, separately, RL males and females from the same group. In order to obtain the OGTT results, the total area under the glycaemia curve was computed. Results are expressed as mean ± SD (standard deviation) at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: RL male and female body weight, before weaning, was significantly higher when compared with CL animals. This difference was maintained between CLSed and RLSed groups after weaning during all assessed periods. Adiposity was significantly higher in RLSed males when compared to CLSed males, and alterations in glycaemic metabolism were also observed. Endurance andHIIT protocols were efficient in improving maximal cardiorespiratory capacity, as well as concerning the glycemic metabolism and central fat accumulation of males and females submitted to childhood overfeeding by the litter reduction method. Conclusions: Both moderate endurance training and HIIT protocols included in early life were efficient in reverting or preventing certain metabolic alterations as a consequence of overfeeding during breastfeeding in male and female Wistar rats.