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Associations between being overweight, variability in heart rate, and well-being in the young men

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2010

Klaus Schmid ,
Jana Schönlebe ,
Hans Drexler  and
Michael Mueck-Weymann
Klaus Schmid*
Affiliation:
Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Jana Schönlebe
Affiliation:
Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Hans Drexler
Affiliation:
Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Michael Mueck-Weymann
Affiliation:
Institute of Behavioral Medicine and Health Prevention, Department of Public Health, Information Systems and Health Technology Assessment, University of Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall/Tirol, Austria
*
Correspondence to: Dr Klaus Schmid, Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Harfenstr. 18, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany. Tel: +49 9131 852 6777; Fax: +49 9131 852 26819; E-mail: klaus.schmid@rzmail.uni-erlangen.de
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Abstract

Abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system have been repeatedly shown in hypertension. We studied the associations between being overweight, blood pressure, cardiac vagal tone as measured by variability in heart rate, and well-being in a large cohort of young men. We hypothesised an inverse correlation between body mass index and the variability in heart rate. Further, we assessed systolic and diastolic blood pressure as traditional indicators of cardiovascular risk. Exclusion criteria were the use of drugs or pharmaceuticals. The following data from 786 men with a mean age of 19.4 years (standard deviation = 1.4, with a range from 16 to 24 years) were analysed in a cross-sectional study: body mass index, sleep duration, sporting activities, psychological well-being, blood pressure, heart rate, and variability in heart rate. Despite the young age of the men in this study, increased values for the body mass index were already associated with a shift in sympathovagal balance trending towards sympathetic dominance. There was also a significant positive correlation between body mass index and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. A multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that significant factors, which were associated with variability in heart rate, were body mass index and sporting activities. In addition, sporting activity and sleep duration had a significant positive impact on psychological well-being. Even in young men, being overweight is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, especially an increased sympathetic and/or lowered cardiovascular tone and increased blood pressure. Our study gives additional motivation for the early prevention and treatment of obesity in childhood and adolescence.

Keywords

Obesitybody mass indexautonomic nervous systemadolescents
Type
Original Articles
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 54 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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