Heart Rate Variability and Obesity Indices: Emphasis on the Response to Noise and Standing

Abstract

Although there was no significant HRV response to stimuli, root mean square of successive differences (which reflects parasympathetic acivity) and low frequency (which mainly reflects sympathetic activity) were negatively correlated with fat mass, fat percentage, and waist-to-hip ratio at rest in obese persons. These results mean obesity can change cardiac autonomic nervous response, meaning that the mechanism by which obesity increases cardiac mortality would be explained, at least partially.