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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1521995
This article is part of the Research Topic Impact of Blood Flow Restriction Device Features and Methodological Considerations on Acute- and Longitudinal Responses to Blood Flow Restricted Exercise View all 6 articles

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Training on Cardiometabolic Health and Body Composition in Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Meta-Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Hao Kong Hao Kong 1*Yilin Zhang Yilin Zhang 1Mingyue Yin Mingyue Yin 2Kai Xu Kai Xu 2Qingguo Sun Qingguo Sun 1*Olivier Girard Olivier Girard 3
  • 1 Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China
  • 2 Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 3 University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This meta-analysis aims to evaluated the effects of blood flow restriction (BFR) training on cardiometabolic health and body composition in adults with overweight and obesity. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus databases on March 15, 2024.Pooled effects for each outcome were summarized using Hedge's g (g) through metaanalysis-based random effects models, and subgroup analyses were used to explore moderators. A total of 11 studies with 242 participants (Age:32.6±3.6, BMI:27.2±3.5) were included. Regarding cardiometabolic health, BFR training significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (g = 0.62 [0.08, 1.16], p = 0.02), while no significant differences were observed in maximal oxygen uptake (g = 0.48 [-0.21, 1.17], p = 0.17) or diastolic blood pressure (g = 0.31 [-0.22, 0.84], p = 0.25). Regarding body composition, BFR training significantly reduced body fat percentage (g = 0.30 [0.01, 0.58]; p = 0.04), while no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed in body weight (g = 0.14 [-0.14, 0.42]), body mass index (g = 0.08 [-0.21, 0.38]), waist circumference (g = 0.13 [-0.28, 0.53]), or waist-to-hip ratio (g = 0.48 [-0.19, 1.15]). Subgroup analysis revealed no significant difference in improving systolic blood pressure (g = 0.57 [-0.10, 1.24] vs. g = 0.70 [-0.18, 1.59]) and body fat percentage (g = 0.20 [-0.20, 0.61] vs. g = 0.45 [-0.05, 0.95]) between BFR resistance training and BFR aerobic training. In all selected studies, the overall risk of bias was categorized as "some concern". The certainty of evidence for the BFR outcomes was low. BFR training shows promise in improving cardiometabolic health and body composition, indicating that it may serve as a beneficial, individualized exercise prescription for improving cardiovascular disease risk and fat loss in adults with excess body weight and obesity.

    Keywords: vascular occlusion, kaatsu, Body fat percentage, systolic blood pressure, Obesity

    Received: 03 Nov 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kong, Zhang, Yin, Xu, Sun and Girard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hao Kong, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China
    Qingguo Sun, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China

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