The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of calorie restriction (CR), rope-skipping (RS) exercise, and their joint effects on cardiometabolic health in young adults. An 8-week randomized trial was conducted on 46 undergraduates aged 19-21 y from South China. The participants were randomized into the following three groups: Calorie restriction (CR) group (n = 14), Rope-skipping (RS) group (n = 14), and CR plus RS (CR-RS) group (n = 12). At both allocation and the end of the intervention, data on anthropometry, serum metabolic, and inflammatory markers were collected. A total of 40 participants completed the intervention and were included in the analysis. After the 8-week intervention, the participants from the CR group and the CR-RS group reduced in body weight (-1.1 ± 1.7 kg, -1.3 ± 2.0 kg), body mass index (-0.4 ± 0.6 kg/m2, -0.5 ± 0.7 kg/m2), body fat percentage (-1.2 ± 1.6%, -1.7 ± 1.8%), and body fat mass (-1.1 kg (-2.2, -0.3), -1.1 kg (-2.5, -0.4)) compared to the baseline (p < 0.05 or p = 0.051). For metabolic and inflammatory factors, the participants in the CR-RS group showed significant decreases in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (-0.40 mmol/L) and interleukin-8 (-0.73 mmol/L). While all the above markers showed no significant difference among the groups after intervention, in the subgroup of overweight/obese participants (n = 23), the CR-RS group had significantly lower blood pressure, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-8 levels than the CR or RS groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, both CR and CR-RS could reduce weight and improve body composition in young adults. More importantly, in those with overweight or obesity, CR-RS intervention might be superior to either CR or RS in improving cardiometabolic health.
Keywords: caloric restriction; cardiometabolic health; exercise; obesity; rope-skipping.