Heart Rate Responses at Rest, during Exercise and after Exercise Periods in Relation to Adiposity Levels among Young Nigerian Adults

There is a dearth of comparative studies on heart rate (HR) abnormalities at rest, chronotropic responses during submaximal exercise, and such responses during recovery from submaximal exercise between healthy-weight and overweight/obese young adults. Eighty healthy young adults (30 men and 50 women) aged 19 to 33 years participated in the present study. A symptom-limited, submaximal, cycle ergometer exercise test of intensity targeted at 60% to 70% of the subject's age-predicted maximum HR was performed. The HR, blood pressure, and minute ventilation were measured at rest and during exercise. Post-exercise, HR was first measured at 1 minute of recovery and then every 2 minutes until the 5th minute. Our results showed significantly higher resting HR (