A randomized 9-month study of blood pressure and body fat responses to aerobic training versus combined aerobic and resistance training in older men

• High blood pressure is the most prevalent cause of cardiovascular disease.
• Aerobic and combined training were effective in reducing resting blood pressure.
• Only combined training changed body fat percentage.
• Body fat percentage change correlated with changes in blood pressure.
• Combined training significantly reduced the number of hypertensive subjects.

This randomized study evaluated the impact of different exercise training modalities on blood pressure and body fat responses in apparently healthy older men. Forty-eight elderly men (aged 65–75 years) were randomly assigned to an aerobic training group (ATG, n = 15), a combined aerobic and resistance training group (CTG, n = 16), or a control group (n = 17). Both exercise training programs were moderate-to-vigorous intensity, three days/week for 9-months. Strength, aerobic endurance, body fat and blood pressure were measured on five different occasions. The data were analyzed using a mixed-model ANOVA, and the independence between systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and group was tested. A significant main effect of group (p < 0.001) was observed in strength and aerobic endurance, with higher performance observed in the CTG. A significant main effect of group (p < 0.001) and time (p = 0.029) was observed in body fat percentage, with a 2.3% decrease in CTG. A significant main effect of time was observed in SBP (p = 0.005) and in DBP (p = 0.011) for both ATG and CTG. Mean decreases in SBP and DBP, respectively, were 15 and 6 mmHg for ATG and 24 and 12 mmHg for CTG. There was a significant association for SBP (p = 0.008) and DBP (p = 0.005) in the CTG, with significant individual BP profile modifications. Both exercise-training programs reduce resting blood pressure. However, only the combined exercise training was effective at reducing body fat percentage; consequently, there were larger changes in blood pressure, which result in a significant reduction in hypertensive subjects.