EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEISURE TIME EXERCISE ACTIVITIES’ ON BLOOD NITRIC OXIDE LEVELS IN MIDDLE-AGED MEN
F. TURGAY1, H. İŞLEKEL2, S.O. KARAMIZRAK3, Ç. YENİSEY4, T. KOCAHAN1, S. SELAMOĞLU1
1Gençlik ve Spor İl Müdürlüğü, Sporcu Sağlık Merkezi, İzmir
2Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Biyokimya AD, İzmir
3Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Spor Hekimliği AD, İzmir
4Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Biyokimya AD, Aydın
Keywords: Jogging, soccer training, leisure time exercise, serum nitric oxide, plasma TBARS
Abstract
Regular exercise of aerobic nature is known to have beneficial effects on blood lipids and lipoproteins that are widely accepted risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the effects of leisure-time aerobic jogging and basically anaerobic soccer training on blood nitric oxide (NO), considered as a new CV disease criteria, is not well documented. This study was designed to determine the effects of these two different training activities on serum NO levels in middle aged men. The total of 60 healthy males aged 40-55 who participated in the study formed the jogging (JG, n=20), leisure-time soccer players (FG, n=20), and the sedentary control (CG, n=20) groups. Besides main physical and physiological characteristics, indirect maximal oxygen consumption (maxVO2) levels were determined. Serum NO and plasma TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were analyzed. No significant differences were obtained for blood NO and TBARS among the three groups, although they were somewhat elevated in the FG. Though the effects of the two types of leisure time trainings on the oxidative parameter plasma TBARS were not different, those on the antioxidative serum NO were different. This may be caused by the longer sports background of the FG, and the nature of exercise activities in soccer, which may trigger NO formation.
