[Effects of exercise and low-fat diet on the TNF-alpha expression of insulin resistance in rats].

Objective: To investigate the effects of exercise (EX), low-fat diet (LFD) and their combination intervention on the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression of insulin resistance in rats.

Methods: One hundred and thirty male rats randomly assigned to 2 groups: Control (CON)-10 rats consuming a low-fat diet; HFD-120 rats consuming a high-fat diet (HFD). The dietary regimen was sustained for 8 wk, at which point the 40 HFD group rats gaining the most weight were referred to as the obese rats.

Low-intensity voluntary running lowers blood pressure with simultaneous improvement in endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and insulin sensitivity in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Our objective is to examine the effects of voluntary running at different intensity levels on blood pressure, endothelium-dependent vessel dysfunction and insulin resistance in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with severe hypertension. Ten-month-old male and female SHR with severe hypertension were assigned to voluntary running at either low intensity (30% of maximal aerobic velocity) or moderate intensity (60% of maximal aerobic velocity) on a motor-driven treadmill for 6 weeks, 20 min per day and 7 days per week. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats and SHR were kept under sedentary conditions as controls.