Effects of exercise modalities on heart rate recovery and its association with cardiometabolic risk in adolescents with overweight or obesity

by Rubin Pooni, Silva Arslanian, Heather Edgell, Hala Tamim, SoJung Lee, Jennifer L. Kuk

Objective

Attenuated heart rate recovery (HRR) immediately after exercise is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease and mortality in adults. We examined the effects of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), and combined AE and RE on HRR, and the relationship of HRR with body composition and metabolic risk factors in adolescents with overweight or obesity.

Research design and methods

We included 147 adolescents (BMI ≥ 85^th percentile, 12–18 years) who participated in exercise intervention studies (3–6 months), and had a complete data set including VO_2peak, body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and cardiometabolic risk factors before and after the interventions. HRR was calculated as the difference between peak HR during the maximal treadmill test and HR at 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-min after the cessation of the test.

Results

After interventions, a faster HRR at 2–5 min was observed following AE (17.3–25.6% change, P P P P P 2peak. Changes in HRR were not associated with the changes in % body fat or metabolic risk factors.

Conclusion

AE training is more beneficial than RE or combined AE and RE training for improving HRR in adolescents with overweight or obesity.

Exploring levels and factors associated with transition challenges for Syrian refugee parents resettled in Canada

by Hala Tamim, Elena Levitskaya, MacGregor Goodman, Gwen Ehi, Aliza Maqsood, Safoura Zangiabadi, Yunis Khaled

Although the literature has documented numerous challenges Syrian refugees face during their resettlement in Canada, the unique transition experiences of Syrian refugee parents remain underexplored. This study examines demographic, community and social, migration, and health-related factors that influence the level of difficulty experienced by Syrian refugee parents in Canada during their transition. This cross-sectional, interview-based study was conducted from March 2021 to March 2022, involving 540 Syrian refugee parents in Ontario with at least one child under the age of 18. Transition difficulty was measured based on the question “How difficult has the transition into Canada been for you?” Responses ranged from 1 representing “Not difficult at all” and 5 representing “Very difficult”. 6.5% of participants rated their transition as “Not difficult at all”, 15.9% as “Not difficult, “20.6% as “Neutral”, 43% as “Difficult”, and 13.7% as “Very difficult”. Results of the multiple linear regression analyses indicated that greater transition difficulty was significantly associated with experiences of discrimination at children’s school events (Adjβ = 0.138, p = 0.038), dissatisfaction with friendships (Adjβ = 0.134, p = 0.006), being over age 45 (Adjβ = 0.301, p = 0.047), lower proficiency in English or French (Adjβ = − 0.145, p = 0.008), longer duration spent in Canada (Adjβ = 0.123, p