The Effects of Mat Pilates Training on Vascular Function and Body Fatness in Obese Young Women With Elevated Blood Pressure

Abstract

Background: Effective nonpharmacological interventions targeting the enhancement of vascular function and decline of body fatness (BF) in obese individuals are indispensable for the prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular events in young adults. Mat Pilates training (MPT) has gained significant popularity worldwide, yet its effects on vascular function and body composition are understudied. We examined the effects of MPT on vascular function and BF in young obese women with elevated blood pressure (BP).

Methods: Twenty-eight young obese women with elevated BP were randomized to an MPT (n = 14) or a nonexercising control (CON, n = 14) group for 12 weeks. Systemic arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV)), brachial and aortic BP, wave reflection (augmentation index (AIx)), plasma nitric oxide (NO) levels, and BF percentage (BF%) were assessed before and after 12 weeks.

Results: MPT significantly reduced (P ˂ 0.05) baPWV (-0.7 ± 0.2 m/s), AIx (-4 ± 1%), brachial systolic BP (-5 ± 1 mm Hg), aortic systolic BP (-6 ± 1 mm Hg), and BF% (-2 ± 1%), while significantly increasing plasma NO (6 ± 2 µM) (P ˂ 0.05) compared with CON. MPT improved systemic arterial stiffness, aortic BP, wave reflection, circulating plasma NO, and BF% in young obese women with elevated BP.

Conclusions: MPT may be an effective intervention for the improvement of vascular function and BF in young obese women with elevated BP, a population at risk for hypertension and early vascular complications.

Clinical trials registration: Trial Number NCT03907384.

Keywords: Pilates exercise; adiposity; aortic blood pressure; arterial health; arterial stiffness; blood pressure; hypertension; wave reflection.