Microcurrent and Aerobic Exercise Effects in Abdominal Fat

Microcurrent and Aerobic Exercise Effects in Glycerol, Catecholamines, Energetic Source and Muscle Activity

The purpose of this study was to analyze microcurrent short term effects used with aerobic exercise on abdominal fat.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity, Abdominal
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Transcutaneous microcurrent; Device: Aerobic exercise

Detailed Description

Nutritional patterns have been changed during twenty-first century with sugar and fat's high proportions that allied to sedentary lifestyle increased body fat. There is already a well establish relationship between total body fat excess, cardiometabolic diseases and increased mortality, knowing that abdominal fat (android pattern), different from body index, presents an additional influence to health risks. Women with their abdominal adipocytes (visceral fat) show an increased lipolytic activity that releases free fat acids to the systemic and portal circulation leading to a metabolic syndrome, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Aerobic exercise is a way to decrease fat as it stimulates lipolysis through an increase in catecholamine's level resulting from a sympathetic system nervous activity raise. The most used exercise for lipid elimination is the prolonged aerobic moderate exercise with a minimum of 30 minutes.

Nevertheless aerobic exercise practice reduce globally lipidic sources and not locally .

Electrolipolysis using microcurrent has been used in clinical practice as a technique to reduce abdominal fat. This technique can be applied transcutaneously or percutaneously seeming that the former is not so effective as skin can be an obstacle to the current effect on visceral and subcutaneous fat .

Abdominal fat excess is associated with cardiometabolic diseases and can be prevented using microcurrent and aerobic exercise to stimulate lipolysis.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Portugal
  • Porto
    • Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Portugal, 4400-303
      • Andreia Noites

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age between 18 and 30 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

• submitted to other fat reduce procedure, to show cardiovascular risk factors or diseases and/or any physical condition limiting aerobic exercise. To present any contraindications to microcurrent and/or aerobic exercise, to take medication that influence lipid metabolism, and to be pregnant.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Transcutaneous microcurrent; This group performed aerobic exercise just after microcurrent in the abdominal region with four transcutaneous electrodes in a parallel position, intensity below the sensitivity threshold and a maximum of 1 milliampere (mA). Every 20 minutes changed from 25 hertz (Hz) to 10 Hz	Device: Transcutaneous microcurrent; Microcurrent in the abdominal region with four transcutaneous electrodes in a parallel position, intensity below the sensitivity threshold and a maximum of 1 mA. Every 15 minutes changed from 25 Hz to 10 Hz.; Device: Aerobic exercise; 50 minutes of aerobic moderate-intensity exercise (45-55% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max)) using Karvonen´s formula, performed on a cycloergometer. Were used Borg scale (12-13), Polar® heart monitors to control heart rate and K4b2 to analyze the quantity of oxygen (O2) consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Control group; Control group performed aerobic exercise just after microcurrent in the abdominal region with four transcutaneous electrodes in a parallel position, but microcurrent device was switched off.	Device: Aerobic exercise; 50 minutes of aerobic moderate-intensity exercise (45-55% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max)) using Karvonen´s formula, performed on a cycloergometer. Were used Borg scale (12-13), Polar® heart monitors to control heart rate and K4b2 to analyze the quantity of oxygen (O2) consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during exercise.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in catecholamines and glycerol concentrations	Blood analysis collection was carried out with help from an clinical analysis technician. The volunteers were not fasting.	10 minutes before the interventions, after interventions (duration of interventions - 90 minutes) and after 24 hours
Change in proportion of energy source	K4b2 (COSMED ®) was used for analysis of cardiopulmonary gas exchange in real time.	Immediately before (for 3 minutes) and during exercise (duration of exercise - 50 minutes)
Change in electromyographic activity	Recording the surface electrical activity produced by rectus abdominis and external oblique in front bridge and side bridge exercise, respectively.	5 minutes before and after microcurrent

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Subcutaneous abdominal fat and visceral abdominal fat	Ultrasound was performed at the end of expiration to measure subcutaneous abdominal fat between xiphoid apophysis and navel, below navel, and above left and right anterior superior iliac spine. Between xiphoid apophysis and navel was also measured visceral abdominal fat. Abdominal fat analyzed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).	20 minutes before the interventions
Suprailiac, vertical and horizontal abdominal skinfolds	Suprailiac, vertical and horizontal abdominal skinfolds were performed two times in right hemi body, by caliper.	20 minutes before the interventions
Perimeters measurements	The perimeters measurements were done, at the end of expiration, at waist level (below last rib), at navel level, at the point immediately above the iliac crests and at trochanters level. The waist-hip ratio was calculated using the waist level perimeter. divided by trochanters level perimeter.	20 minutes before the interventions
Change in cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose concentrations	Blood analysis collection was carried out with help from an clinical analysis technician. The volunteers were not fasting.	10 minutes before the interventions, after interventions (duration of interventions - 90 minutes)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
International Physical Activity Questionnaire	Used to evaluate the level of physical activity of the volunteers	30 minutes before the interventions
Food Frequency Questionnaire	Used to evaluate the lifestyle of the volunteers	30 minutes before the interventions
Bioimpedance values	The height was measured with the volunteers on respiratory apnea. To minimize the influence of electrolyte balance changes in bioimpedance assessment, was given some rules to volunteers. It was calculated BMI using the body weight divided by height squared	30 minutes before the interventions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto
• Investigators: Study Chair: Rui Vilarinho, BSc, Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Ahmadian M, Wang Y, Sul HS. Lipolysis in adipocytes. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2010 May;42(5):555-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2009.12.009. Epub 2009 Dec 16.
• Despres JP, Lemieux I. Abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2006 Dec 14;444(7121):881-7. doi: 10.1038/nature05488.
• Bulow J, Gjeraa K, Enevoldsen LH, Simonsen L. Lipid mobilization from human abdominal, subcutaneous adipose tissue is independent of sex during steady-state exercise. Clin Physiol Funct Imaging. 2006 Jul;26(4):205-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-097X.2006.00664.x.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 21, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 10, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): October 24, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 23, 2014
• Last Verified: October 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Metabolic syndrome; Aerobic exercise; Lipolysis; Abdominal fat; Microcurrent
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal
• Other Study ID Numbers: AN-003