Body Composition and Aerobic Performance Changes After 8 Weeks of Exposure to Normobaric Intermittent Hypoxia

To take advantage of altitude, "intermittent hypoxia" methods have been developed that involve shorter exposures to hypoxia.In general, systemic hypoxia can be produced in two ways: (1) by lowering barometric pressure (BP, hypobaric hypoxia) or (2) by reducing the amount of oxygen in inspired air (FiO2) through oxygen filtration or nitrogen dilution (normobaric hypoxia).The objective of this analysis was to observe changes in body composition and aerobic performance after 8 weeks of intermittent hypoxia exposure at rest.A total of 20 male volunteers between the ages of 18-26 participated in the study.Participants were randomly divided into 2 groups (Control Group and Intermittent Hypoxia Group).The Intermittent Hypoxia Group completed the process by being exposed to intermittent hypoxia for 8 weeks.Each intermittent hypoxia session was planned as 3 days a week and for 1 hour.After 8 weeks of experimental process, statistically significant differences were found for lean mass, android lean mass, gynoid lean mass, the relative skeletal muscle mass index, peak lactate, 1mmol lactate threshold, 4mmol lactate threshold, and MaxVo2 variables (p<0,05).After 8 weeks of intermittent hypoxia exposure, an increase in maximal oxygen consumption capacity was observed.The increase in lean mass, especially in the gynoid and android regions, can be explained by the increase in fat burning activities due to oxygen utilization capacity.Almost every study reviewed in the literature used different intermittent hypoxia exposure protocols and different simulated altitudes.The method discussed in this study may be beneficial on the body composition and oxygen utilization capacity of sedentary individuals.