Response of TNF-α Levels and Blood Glucose Levels after Acute High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise in Overweight Women

Sedentary behavior is a lifestyle that plays a role in the pathophysiology of obesity or overweight. TNF-α is an inflammatory cytokine that can affect glucose metabolism and can trigger insulin resistance. Acute HIIE is exercise with alternating periods of high-intensity exercise and periods of active recovery. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes of TNF-α and blood glucose levels after acute HIIE in overweight women. Subjects were overweight women, divided into 2 groups (K1=control group and K2=experimental group; n=7) with a body mass index between 23.00 and up to 24.99 kg/m². The acute protocol of HIIE with ergocycle consisted of a 3-minute warm-up (starting at 40 rpm), core exercise for 60 s at 80%-90% of HRmax, interspersed with 60 s of active recovery (40 rpm), and cool-down for 2 minutes. The pre-test was performed before treatment and the post-test was performed 60 minutes after treatment. Serum TNF-α levels were measured by the human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Blood glucose changing levels were taken by finger prick. The result showed that the change of TNF-α (the difference of pre and post) was a significant decrease in the K1 and K2 group (p<0.05), and the K2 group less decrease compared to K1. Blood glucose was significant (p<0.05). This study can be concluded that the TNF-α level is unchanged and the blood glucose levels is increase in overweight women with sedentary behavior performing acute HIIE.