Eight Weeks of Sprint Interval Training With Adding Caffeine Ingestion Leads to Greater Improvements in Health-Related Physiological Parameters in Obese Male Adults

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of an 8-week sprint interval training (SIT) intervention alongside caffeine (CAF) supplementation on the physiological adaptations related to the health of obese men. Thirty obese men volunteered to take part in this research and were randomly assigned to three distinct groups: Caffeine plus SIT (CAF+SIT, 6 mg·kg-1 body mass, n=10), Placebo plus SIT (PL+SIT, 6 mg·kg-1 body mass in cellulose, n=10), and Control (CON, n=10). The participants in the caffeine and placebo groups ingested their supplements three times weekly, one hour prior to each SIT session over a period of eight weeks. Lower body strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness as well as body fat were assessed at baseline and following the intervention. Additionally, blood samples for evaluating fasting glucose and lipid profiles were collected 48 h before and after the SIT intervention. Both the CAF+SIT and PL+SIT groups demonstrated notable changes (p<0.05) in the assessed variables after the 8-week intervention period. Furthermore, the CAF+SIT group exhibited significantly greater adaptive responses (p<0.05) compared to the PL+SIT group in terms of fat mass reduction (Standardized mean difference [SMD]=-0.58), strength improvement (SMD=0.36), and cardiorespiratory fitness enhancement (SMD=0.41), as well as modifications in fasting glucose (SMD=-0.57), HDL (SMD=0.18), LDL (SMD=-0.80), cholesterol (SMD=-0.53), triglyceride (SMD=-0.48) and non-HDL (SMD=-1.14) following the intervention. The administration of CAF prior to SIT led to more significant decreases in fat mass and enhancements in strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. Additionally, it resulted in more notable alterations in fasting glucose and lipid profiles among obese men, thereby elucidating the beneficial effects of CAF when combined with SIT to enhance men's health. Key words Interval intervention " Supplementation " Obesity " Health.