The effects of two fitness programs with different metabolic demands on oxidative stress in the blood of young females

Abstract

© 2015 University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. T e aim of the present study was to assess the eff ects of two metabolically diff erent exercise programs on the redox statei of women who were physically inactive before the beginning of the study. For this purpose, participants (women 25±5 years old) chose one of two popular fi tness programs, Pilates or Tae Bo, and attended it 3 times a week for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of the study, body composition analysis and venous blood sampling were performed. The levels of superoxide anion radical, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and lipid peroxidation were measured in plasma, and the levels of reduced glutathione and the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase were measured in erythrocytes. Only the Tae Bo program induced changes (positive) in body composition, whereas both exercise programs induced slight oxidative stress in exercisers. In the Tae Bo group, the levels of hydrogen peroxide were signifi cantly increased, whereas the levels of reduced glutathione were decreased after three months of training. In the Pilates group, hydrogen peroxide and catalase activity were increased, and nitrites decreased. However, at the end of the study, those two groups had no signifi cantly diff erent values for any pro/antioxidant compared with the subjects who served as controls. This fi nding suggests that moderate physical activity, such as recreational fi tness programs, may induce the increased production of reactive oxygen species but do not lead to a serious disturbance of the redox homeostasis of exercisers.