Effects of Nine-Month Lifestyle Intervention on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: Sex Differences in Obese Individuals

Abstract

Limited data is available on the sex differences and individual responses of cardiometabolic parameters adjusted with potential confounders (i.e. sex, age, baseline values) after a longer term Mediterranean diet (MedD) and high intensity interval training (HIIT) in obese subjects. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of nine-month MedD counseling and supervised HIIT on cardiometabolic risk factors and individual responses in obese women (n = 99) and obese men (n = 35). Body composition (body mass, fat mass, lean body mass, waist circumference), cardiorespiratory fitness (METs), and cardiometabolic risk factors (blood pressure, blood sample variables) were measured at baseline and after nine months of a program combining MedD and HIIT two to three times a week. When adjusted with sex, age, and baseline values, obese women similarly improved their body composition, METs, and cardiometabolic risk factors vs. obese men. The proportion of responders according to clinical cutoff levels were the same in obese women and men. A longer MedD and HIIT intervention similarly improves body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, and individual responses in obese women and men, even after adjustment of confounders (sex, age, baseline value).