Exercise as it relates to Disease/Effects of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise combined with resistance training on neurocognitive performance in obese women

What is the background to this research?
Obese or overweight is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. . Previously there have been no further studies conducted on how the long-term effects of an exercise intervention on deficits in inhibitory control in obese individuals. Inhibitory control is defined as the suppression of goal-irrelevant stimuli and behavioral responses. . It is widely believed that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) serves as a source of inhibitory control over other brain areas. The inhibitory control plays a key role in body weight regulation. Compared to a normal healthy adult, obese adults tend to have more excitation when responding to food cues in the brain. It is also stated that obese people appear to show lower dopamine D2 receptors which could potentially heighten the chances of making someone overindulge. Exercise plays a key role in not only continuing to be healthy but can also be effective in improving problems that relate to inhibitory control. Therefore, the aim of the research study was to examine the effect of 12 weeks of a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise on behavioural and cognitive electrophysiological performance involving cognitive interference inhibition in obese individuals.

Where is the research from?
This study was conducted in Taiwan. It was advertised on a local radio station and posted in a local newspaper. The researchers based the criteria of obesity on the western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization for Asian populations. Healthy obese women with a body mass of > 25.0 kg/m2 were recruited as the participants of the study. Only female participants were recruited because the effects of exercise on cognitive degeneration is assumed to be gender-dependent.

What kind of research was this?
The research conducted was a randomised clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either the exercise group or the control group. The outcome of the intervention was to determine if 12 weeks of aerobic exercise combined with resistance exercise in obese women affects their neurocognitive function.

What did the research involve?
Thirty-two obese women were recruited to participate. These women were randomly divided into two groups: the exercise group and the control group. All volunteers were asked to participate in the Stroop task with electrophysiological signals being collected whilst performing the task. The data was collected prior to the 12-week intervention and subsequently after as well. VO2 max, muscular strength, and body fat percentage were all assessed as well, this was done a week before and after the intervention. Volunteers in the exercise group were asked to engage in 30 minutes of moderate to high-intensity aerobic exercise combined with resistance exercise. The exercise group did 5 sessions per week for the 12 weeks. The control group was asked to continue with their daily lifestyle doing no exercise during the intervention time. Female adults suffering from obesity show problems in cognitive interference inhibition when performing the Stroop task. Therefore one of the measures was to perform a Stroop task. P2, N2, and P3 event-related potential were also forms of measures ideal for inhibitory control. P2 is a wave that refers to the positive deflection peaking around 100-250 msec after the stimulus. N2 Is a negative deflection peaking at about 200 msec after the presentation of a stimulus. P3 is a positive component occurring around 300–600 ms post-stimulus, is associated with inhibition processing or motivation-related attentional engagement. The three ERP components have been demonstrated to effectually differentiate cognitive electrophysiological performance in obese and normal-weight individuals when performing cognitive tasks involving inhibitory control.

What were the basic results?
The results of the study revealed that the 12-week exercise intervention did not enhance the behavioural indices. The exercise group showed significantly shorter N2 and P3 waves and more P2 and P3 waves. The participants when compared to the control group had significantly improved in total fat percentage and level of physical fitness.

What conclusions can we take from this research?
These findings suggested that 12 weeks of aerobic exercise combined with resistance exercise in obese women affects cognitive function broadly, but not specifically in terms of inhibitory control. The percentage of decreased trunk fat may play a potential facilitating role in inhibition processing in obesity.

Practical advice
Obesity in adults can increase health complications. Risks include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and psychological disorders. This paper allows exercise scientists to create plans and diversity that will help them better accumulate to people's conditions. this paper also allows scientists to gain a better understanding of cognitive control in various types of bodies. If the goal is to use exercise to reduce the health risks of obesity, exercises, specifically aerobic and resistance training, should be incorporated of used to lessen the risk.