Glucose tolerance status associates with improvements in cognitive function following high-intensity exercise in adults with obesity

Gregory N Ruegsegger; Emily R Ekholm; Chandler E Monroe; Chapin I Rappaport; Rocco D Huppert; Caleb R Anton; Mia J Ferguson

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114389

Glucose tolerance status associates with improvements in cognitive function following high-intensity exercise in adults with obesity

Physiol Behav. 2023 Dec 1:272:114389. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114389. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Authors

Gregory N Ruegsegger¹, Emily R Ekholm², Chandler E Monroe², Chapin I Rappaport², Rocco D Huppert², Caleb R Anton², Mia J Ferguson²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, A173 Falcon Center, 410 S. 3rd St., River Falls, WI, 54022, United States. Electronic address: gregory.ruegsegger@uwrf.edu.
² Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, A173 Falcon Center, 410 S. 3rd St., River Falls, WI, 54022, United States.

PMID: 37890604
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114389

Abstract

Purpose: Obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and proinflammatory cytokines associate with cognitive decline. Numerous studies document cognitive benefits of acute exercise bouts in lean individuals. However, how co-morbidities such as obesity and IR influence cognitive changes induced by acute exercise is unclear. We examined the effects of acute high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive function in age-matched and BMI-matched obese adults with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and in lean, NGT adults.

Methods: 49 adults (15 Lean, 18 Obese-NGT, 16 Obese-IGT) performed one session of high-intensity interval exercise (four cycles of 4-min at 75% W_max with 3-min rest). Cognitive function testing and blood sampling were performed pre- and post-exercise.

Results: Following exercise, measurements of executive function and working memory were improved in Lean and Obese-NGT (p < 0.05), but not Obese-IGT. Changes in cognitive function following exercise negatively correlated with 2-hr glucose during an OGTT after controlling for body weight and body composition (r_p = -0.40, p = 0.007). Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and CRP remained increased 60-minutes post-exercise in Obese-IGT, but not in Lean or Obese-NGT, which positively associated with 2-hr glucose during an OGTT (p < 0.01) and negatively with changes in cognitive function following exercise (p < 0.01). Greater insulin levels in Obese-IGT post-exercise also negatively correlated with changes in cognitive function following exercise (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Improvements in cognition following acute high-intensity exercise positively associate with glucose tolerance, independent of body weight and body composition. Further, poorer changes in cognitive performance following exercise associate with persistent peripheral inflammation.

Keywords: Cognition; Exercise; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Prediabetes.

MeSH terms

Adult
Blood Glucose
Cognition
Cytokines
Exercise
Glucose
Glucose Intolerance* / complications
Glucose Intolerance* / therapy
Glucose Tolerance Test
Humans
Insulin
Insulin Resistance*
Obesity / complications
Obesity / therapy

Substances

Insulin
Glucose
Cytokines
Blood Glucose