Hypoxic Training Improves Normoxic Glucose Tolerance in Adolescents with Obesity :

PURPOSE: To test whether environmental hypoxia could potentiate the effects of exercise training on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. METHODS: Fourteen adolescents with obesity were assigned to 6 weeks of exercise training either in normoxic or in hypoxic conditions (FiO2 15%). Adolescents trained 3x/w for 50-60min, including endurance and resistance exercises. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), blood and morphological analyses as well as physical performance tests were performed before and after the training period. RESULTS: After training, hypoxia, but not normoxia, decreased the area under the curve of plasma insulin (-49%; p=0.001) and glucose levels (-14%; p=0.005) during OGTT. Decreased plasma triglycerides levels (p=0.03) and increased maximal aerobic power (p=0.002), work capacity at 160 beats/min (p=0.002) and carbohydrate consumption during exercise (p=0.03) were measured only in the hypoxic group. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxic exercise training was particularly efficient at improving glucose tolerance and insulin response to a glucose challenge in adolescents with obesity. These results suggest that exercise training in hypoxia could be an interesting strategy against insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes development in adolescents with obesity.