Examining Racial Differences in Sympathetic Activity Assessed During Recovery from Exercise in Obese Adolescent Females

Sympathetic overactivity (SO) is associated with obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Black adolescents have an increased risk of obesity and CVD later in life, particularly females. PURPOSE: To evaluate differences in SO between black (BOA) and white obese female adolescents (WOA). METHODS: Sixty-one BOA (n=49, 13.7±1.6 yrs, 38.1±6.1 kg/m2) and WOA (n=12, 13.3±2.2 yrs, 34.3±4.9 kg/m2) completed a maximal graded treadmill test after which an exercise recovery index (ERI; heart rate/VO2 plateau) was calculated. RESULTS: The ERI was significantly greater in BOA compared to WOA (29.8 ± 6.4 vs. 24.1 ± 3.1, P = 0.004). Multiple linear regression modeling revealed a significant independent association between ERI and VO2FFM (r = -0.310, P = 0.027) and %FAT (r = 0.326, P = 0.020) in BOA only. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that BOA females have greater SO than WOA females.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Health and Movement Sciences

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Hall, Stacey

Contributors dc:contributor

• R. Lee Franco

• Sympthetic Nervous System
• Obese
• Ethnicity
• Adolescence
• Medicine and Health Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/338

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1337