Adaptive-Compensatory Responses to Exercise in Overweight and Hypokinetic Men of Mature and Elderly Age

Abstract

Relevance. In the modern fitness industry, the search for effective mechanisms to stabilize the functioning of the body systems of people of different ages who are overweight due to prolonged physical inactivity, certain nosological manifestations, and pathological conditions is being addressed not only by physical education scientists, but also by researchers in biology and medicine. Objective. To investigate the effectiveness of using blood biomarkers to assess the nature of adaptive-compensatory responses to test loads in men of the first and second periods of middle and old age who are overweight and hypokinetic. Methods. Sixty men of different age groups with pronounced hypokinesia due to problems with excessive body weight were examined. Three groups of 20 people were formed: A (age 32±1.3 years, body fat mass – 46.2%), B (age 52±2.2 years, BFM – 50.3%), C (age 64±2.4 years, BFM – 48.7%). Biochemical blood parameters (CK, LDH, cortisol, and creatinine) were used to assess adaptive-compensatory responses to the test load. Results. It was found that in response to the test load in representatives of group A, the activity of the blood CPK enzyme decreased by 6.9%, while in group B, on the contrary, we observed an increase of 15.1% (p<0.05), which indicates the activation of quite different mechanisms of energy supply for muscle activity under these conditions. At the same time, in the examined men of all groups, regardless of their age characteristics, we recorded a significant and reliable increase in LDH activity in blood serum. However, the detected changes in the studied blood biomarker in men in groups A (+36.9%) and B (+22.9%) in response to a stress stimulus exceed the upper limits of the reference values, which indicates possible manifestations of the activation of compensatory mechanisms. It was found that in response to the test load, we observed a simultaneous significant increase in blood cortisol levels (group B +42.7%) even above the upper limits of the reference range, as well as a decrease in the concentration of this steroid hormone in the blood of representatives of groups A (-19.1%) and B (-16.6%) compared to the resting state. At the same time, an increase in serum creatinine concentration by 13.9% (p<0.5) was found in representatives of group B, while in the examined men of groups A (-19.1%) and B (-9.3%) we recorded a different direction of changes.