Relationship between body composition changes and the blood pressure response to exercise test in overweight Japanese subjects.

We investigated the link between changes in body composition and the blood pressure (BP) response to exercise in overweight Japanese by a retrospective clinical study carried out over a 3-year period. We analyzed data for 38 overweight Japanese aged 22-69 years (47.8 +- 11.4) at baseline. Among the participants, 32 overweight subjects (body mass index : BMI, 29.0 +- 3.0 kg/m2) were further analyzed with a 3-year follow up. BP at rest, the BP response to an exercise test, the aerobic exercise-level determined ventilatory threshold (VT), and body composition were evaluated at an interval of 1 year. During the study period, there were 6 drop outs, who started to receive anti-hypertensive drugs because of the development of hypertension. Based on analysis of follow up data, parameters of body composition were significantly reduced over the 3 years. Systolic BP (SBP) at rest and at VT was also reduced. In addition, delta SBP (? : delta represents positive change in parameters) at VT was positively correlated with ?parameters of body composition over the 3 years. In overweight subjects with increased body weight, there was a significant time (pre vs year 3) effect and interactions by 2 factor-factorial ANOVA. The present study indicates that changes in body composition are closely linked to the SBP response to an exercise test.