Enhancing cardiometabolic health: unveiling the synergistic effects of high-intensity interval training with spirulina supplementation on selected adipokines, insulin resistance, and anthropometric indices in obese males
Question
Does 12 weeks of spirulina supplementation combined with HIIT improve adipokines, insulin resistance, anthropometric indices, and cardiorespiratory fitness more than spirulina, HIIT, or control in obese men?
Summary
Forty-four obese men completed a 12-week four-group trial comparing control, spirulina, treadmill HIIT, and HIIT plus spirulina. HIIT groups trained three times weekly with progressive 4-minute intervals, and the combined HIIT plus spirulina group generally showed the largest improvements in body composition, HOMA-IR, VO2peak, and adipokines, though the supplement co-intervention limits exercise-only interpretation.
Methodology
- Obese men aged 25-40 years who had not engaged in regular physical activity in the prior 6 months.
- 44 participants.
- Treadmill running.
- Work intervals: 4 minutes.
- Recovery: 4 minutes passive or active recovery depending on week.
- Intensity: 75-95% VO2peak for work intervals after week 2.
- About 42 minutes during HIIT weeks.
- 3 sessions/week.
- 12 weeks.
- Randomized four-group intervention trial with exercise and supplement factors
- VO2peak, HOMA-IR, Body composition, and Adipokines were tracked.
Outcomes
VO2peak
Training and supplement interventions improved VO2peak, with combined HIIT plus spirulina showing the largest reported post value.
TG and SG increased VO2peak p<0.05; combined group showed significant markers versus pre/control.
HOMA-IR
HOMA-IR decreased in supplement, training, and combined groups but not control; training and combined groups improved more than supplement alone.
Time x group p=0.0001, eta2=0.76; TSG and TG reductions greater than SG, p=0.0001 and p=0.0002.
Adipokines
HIIT reduced asprosin and lipocalin-2 and increased omentin, irisin, and spexin; some combined-group advantages over training alone were not significant.
Reported interactions included asprosin p=0.001, spexin p=0.014, lipocalin-2 p=0.005, omentin p=0.0001.
Body composition
Training and combined groups improved fat and fat-free mass, with the combined group showing the largest changes.
Significant pre/post and between-group markers reported in Table 1.
Insights
- Progressive 4-minute treadmill intervals can be used in a 12-week obesity program.
- Supplement co-interventions must be separated from exercise programming claims.
- Exercise adherence details were insufficient for implementation confidence.
Limitations
- Men-only sample
- Supplement co-intervention
- Surrogate adipokine outcomes
- Exercise attendance and adverse-event details limited; withdrawals included unspecified medical reasons
Safety
- Article did not report adverse-event or injury outcomes.
- Twenty of 64 selected participants withdrew due to medical reasons, job-related constraints, or waning interest; the medical reasons were not specified or attributed.
- Participants were screened by a qualified medical professional and clinical exercise physiologist with PAR-Q; VO2peak testing used BP/HR monitoring and ACSM/AHA symptom criteria, and training HR was monitored.