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Increased levels of inflammatory markers, namely, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), have been associated with several chronic diseases including atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Forty-five women and men aged >64 years participated in the study and were randomly assigned to two exercise intervention groups and a non-exercising control group. The participants assigned to the exercising groups followed a 16-week exercise protocol based either on aerobic training (AT) or strength training (ST) followed by a further 16 weeks off-training period. The control group (C) remained sedentary throughout the study. Evaluation of body mass, BMI, waist circumference, aerobic endurance, lower-body strength, upper-body strength, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and hs-CRP were performed at baseline, after 16 weeks (post-training for the exercise groups) and at 32 weeks (follow-up). Both, AT and ST groups significantly increased functional fitness at the end of the exercise programs when compared to baseline values. hs-CRP concentrations were maintained throughout the study for the C group, while decreasing 10% at 16 weeks and 51% at 32 weeks for the AT group. In the ST group the hs-CRP concentrations decreased by 11 and 39% at 16 and 32 weeks, respectively. Decreases in hs-CRP concentrations were statistically significant for the AT and ST groups at the 32-week evaluation when compared to baseline. Reduction in hs-CRP concentrations seemed to be associated with strength gains and adiposity loss.

ObjectiveThere are no percentile curves for BMI, waist circumference (WC) or waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) available for Portuguese children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to develop age- and sex-specific BMI, WC and WHtR percentile curves for a representative sample of adolescents living in the Portuguese islands of Azores, one of the poorest regions of Europe, and to compare them with those from other countries.DesignCross-sectional school-based study. Weight, height and WC were objectively measured according to standard procedures. Smoothed percentile curves were estimated using Cole's LMS method.SettingAzores, Portugal.SubjectsProportionate stratified random sample of 1500 adolescents, aged 15–18 years.ResultsResults showed some sex differences in the shape of the BMI curves: in girls, the upper percentile values tend to decrease by the age of 16 and 17 years; whereas in boys, the upper percentiles tend to be flat between 15 and 16 years and then increase until the age of 18 years. In both sexes, the upper percentile values of both WC and WHtR decreased slightly by the age of 16 years and then increased steeply. In both sexes, the Azorean values for the 50th and 90th WC percentiles were higher than those reported for adolescents from the majority of other countries.ConclusionsThe reference curves presented herein provide baseline data for the long-term surveillance of Azorean adolescents, as well as for national and international comparisons.