This investigation examined the effects of acute rowing exercise on a panel of 12 different inflammatory cytokines. Fifteen female rowers (18.3±1.6 yrs; 172.0±5.0 cm; 67.5±8.8 kg; maximal oxygen consumption [VO₂max]: 47.2±7.9 ml.min.⁻¹kg⁻¹) completed a 1-h endurance exercise (distance: 12.1±1.1 km; energy expenditure [EE]: 639±69 kcal; heart rate: 151±7 beats.min⁻¹; intensity: 79.6±3.5% of the second ventilatory turn point). Venous blood samples were analysed for interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-1α, IL-1β, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations. Rowing exercise resulted increment (P<0.05) in IL-6, IL-8, VEGF and MCP-1. Exercise metabolic demand variables such as rating of perceived exertion (r=0.61), distance covered (r=0.60) and EE (r=0.57) were related (P<0.05) to changes in VEGF concentration. Cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by VO₂max was correlated with changes in IL-6 (r=–0.55; P<0.05) level. In conclusion, acute exercise-induced inflammatory reaction was induced by a significant increase in IL-6, IL-8, VEGF and MCP-1 concentrations. Variance in exercise-induced increases in inflammatory cytokines in response to prolonged endurance exercise was characterised by exercise metabolic demand and cardiorespiratory fitness measures in female rowers.

The aim was to investigate the possible association of dietary calcium intake with adiposity, insulin resistance, and adipocytokine values in adolescent boys. In this cross-sectional study, participants were 123 adolescent boys aged 13–15 years, who were divided into tertiles according to their dietary calcium intake. Dietary calcium intake was assessed using three 24 h dietary recalls. In addition, energy intake, body composition, physical activity (PA), and blood biochemical values were also measured. Mean body fat%, fat mass (FM), trunk FM, trunk fat%, and leptin differed between high and low tertiles of calcium intake after adjustment for age, pubertal stage, and PA. For the entire cohort, mean calcium intake was 786 ± 380 mg/day and was related to body mass index (BMI), FM, and trunk fat% but not to insulin resistance or adipocytokine values after adjusting for possible confounders. In addition, only 15.4% of the participants obtained or exceeded their mean dietary calcium intake requirements. These subjects who met their dietary calcium intake had significantly lower body fat% in comparison with subjects not meeting their dietary calcium intake. Odds ratio of being in the highest tertile of FM, trunk FM, and trunk fat% was 3.2–4.4 (95% confidence interval 1.19–12.47; p < 0.05) times higher for boys in low calcium intake tertile, compared to those boys in high calcium intake tertile. In conclusion, dietary calcium intake is inversely associated with total body and abdominal adiposity values in a specific group of healthy male adolescents with different body mass values.

Background and objectives: Studies indicate that genetic and lifestyle factors influence optimal bone development. Adaptations in bone mineral characteristics related to physical activity (PA) are most often observed in pre- and peri-puberty. Longitudinal associations between bone mineral accrual and objectively measured PA in puberty are poorly understood. The present study aims to investigate whether pubertal PA at different intensities is related to bone mineral characteristics in individuals at 18 years of age. Materials and Methods: Anthropometrics, pubertal stage, bone age and PA by accelerometer were measured in 88 boys at the mean age of 12.1 (T1), 13.1 (T2), 14.0 (T3) and 18.0 years (T4). Different bone mineral parameters were measured by dual-energy X-ray at T4. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of bone age, body mass and PA characteristics on measured bone mineral parameters at 18 years of age. Results: Total PA in puberty together with mean pubertal body mass predicted 35.5% of total body (TB) bone mineral density (BMD), 43.0% of TB less head (LH) bone mineral content (BMC) and 48.1% of BMC/height in individuals at 18 years of age. Vigorous PA and body mass in puberty predicted 43.2% of femoral neck (FN) BMD; bone age at T1, vigorous PA and body mass in puberty predicted 47.3% of FN BMC at 18 years of age. No associations between pubertal PA levels and lumbar spine bone mineral characteristics in individuals at 18 years of age were found. Conclusions: Physical activity in puberty has a significant impact on bone mineral characteristics in individuals at 18 years of age, with total PA being a significant predictor of TB BMD and TB LH BMC as well as BMC/height, whereas vigorous PA is a significant predictor of FN BMD and FN BMC.

Rhythmic gymnasts (RGs) are more likely to be dissatisfied with their body mass and shape compared to untrained controls (UCs). However, due to the lack of information, the aim of this study was to investigate the associations of body image perception (BIP) with body composition, daily energy consumption and different blood biochemical markers in adolescent RGs compared to UCs. Thirty-three highly trained RG girls and 20 UC girls aged 14–18 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Height, body mass, body composition, energy intake, resting energy expenditure, training volume and different blood biochemical markers were measured. The body attitude test (BAT) was used to evaluate the BIP of the participants. There were no differences in the total BAT scores between the groups. In RGs, the BAT score correlated positively with the serum resistin level (r = 0.35; p = 0.047). A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that 40.8% of the variability in the BAT score was determined by resistin and BMI. The association of BIP with resistin values was observed only in RGs. In conclusion, our findings add to the increasing evidence that resistin may be a link between BIP and body composition, most likely through fat mass, in adolescent female RGs.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of upper-body high-intensity exercise priming on subsequent leg exercise performance. Specifically, to compare maximal 4000 m cycling performance with upper-body pre-load (MPT_high) and common warm-up (MPT_low). In this case, 15 high-level cyclists (23.3 ± 3.6 years; 181 ± 7 cm; 76.2 ± 10.0 kg; V˙O_2max: 65.4 ± 6.7 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) participated in the study attending three laboratory sessions, completing an incremental test and both experimental protocols. In MPT_high, warm-up was added by a 25 s high-intensity all-out arm crank effort to the traditional 20-min aerobic warm-up. Both 4000 m maximal bouts started with a 12 s all-out start. Heart rate, blood lactate concentration [La) and spirometric data were measured and analyzed. Overall MPT_high time was slower by 5.3 ± 1.2 s (p < 0.05). [La] at the start was 5.5 ± 1.5 mmol·L⁻¹ higher for MPT_high (p < 0.001) reducing anaerobic energy contribution which was higher in MPT_low during the first and third 1000 m split (p < 0.05). Similarly, MPT_low maintained higher total average power during the entire performance (p < 0.05, d = 0.7). Although the MPT_high condition performed less effectively due to decreased anaerobic capacity, pre-load effect may have the potential to enhance performance at longer distances.