BACKGROUND

Heart rate variability (HRV) has proven to be a powerful non-invasive tool to investigate cardiac autonomic control and, seems to be influenced by nutritional status and exercise practice. However, the acute effects of fed or fasting states on HRV and blood pressure (BP) during low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise are currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated the baseline values and behavior of HRV, BP, and heart rate (HR) before and after low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise in fed and fasted states in healthy adults.

METHODS

12 healthy individuals with mean age (SD) 59.0 (9.1) years performed two tests on a treadmill at 80% of the mean velocity of the 6-min walking test separated by 48 h: 12 h fasted (FST) or 1 h fed (FED). HRV, BP and HR were analyzed at rest, posttest, and at the third, fifth, and seventh minutes of recovery.

RESULTS

HRV and HR presented no significant alterations between nutritional conditions. HR at baseline was not different between nutritional conditions. Diastolic blood pressure was increased during the fasted baseline state.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study provide that 12 h overnight fasting does not seem to be enough to affect significant changes in the autonomic modulation in healthy adults submitted to low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise.