Effect of Submaximal Isometric Exercise on the Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Blood Pressure (BP)

Abstract

One of the major determinants of desirable body weights is the body mass index (BMI). In humans, BMI is the ratio of body weight (in kg) to height (in meters square). Helpful to clinicians in estimating average healthy weight and nutritional status of their clients, findings have reported BMI to be dependent on several factors as; genetics, exercise, blood pressure (BP), peripheral arterial blood flow, dietetics, basal metabolic rates (BMR), etc. The goal of this study was to find in men, the effect that sub-maximal isometric exercise has on the relationship between BMI and peripheral arterial blood flow. To achieve this, 400 humans were ethically recruited from Irrua Specialist Teaching hospital, Irrua, Edo State of Nigeria. By means of bidirectional Doppler, Velocity of arterial blood flow (in their upper extremities-brachial arteries) was determined and recorded against values obtained for measured BMI. Subjects were then sorted by age and grouped based on values from arterial flow as; 120 normotensive normal BMI (120-NTNBMI), 120 normotensive high BMI (120-NTHBMI), 80 hypertensive normal BMI (80-HTNBMI), and 80 hypertensive high BMI (80-HTHBMI). Using ANOVA and student t-test, statistical measures of deviation/central tendencies were conducted on obtained data, p-values less than 0.05 were takes as statistically significant. Study found upon analysis, no significant relationship between arterial blood flow of normotensives with normal or high BMI after exercise. Pearson Product moment correlation returned positive correlation between normortensive normal BMI and peripheral arterial blood flow.