Endurance exercise per se reduces the cardiovascular risk marker t-PA antigen in healthy, younger, overweight men.

INTRODUCTION: The cardiovascular risk marker tissue plasminogen activator antigen (t-PA:Ag) can be reduced by long-term exercise interventions, but it is unknown, whether this is due to the weight loss induced by physical activity or due to the physical activity per se.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was tested in 60 healthy, younger (20-40years), overweight (BMI: 25-30kg/m(2)) men randomly assigned to 12weeks of intervention in one of four groups: training (T); energy-reduced diet (D); training and increased diet (T-iD); sedentary lifestyle and unchanged diet (controls, C). Fasting blood samples were obtained before and after 12weeks of intervention and analyzed for plasma t-PA:Ag.

RESULTS: Body weight was reduced in groups T and D. We observed a decrease in t-PA:Ag from baseline to 12weeks in all three exercise and diet intervention groups, and no change in the control group. A between-group difference in t-PA:Ag was observed at 12weeks (p=0.001), and this was due to lower values in T (p=0.0005), D (p=0.005) and T-iD (p=0.009) compared with the control group. Total body fat mass was reduced in all three exercise groups, and we observed a positive correlation between changes in t-PA:Ag and changes in intra-abdominal and subcutaneous adipose tissue volume.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that t-PA:Ag was reduced in all three intervention groups. This suggests that 12weeks of endurance training per se, irrespective of concomitant weight loss, beneficially affects cardiovascular risk in healthy, younger, overweight men.