Obesity: Whole body freezing may help

Cryostimulation – also known as cryotherapy – is a type of treatment that uses extremely cold temperatures.

During whole-body cryostimulation, a person sits or stands in an enclosed room. Inside, the chamber is cooled using liquid nitrogen.

Depending on the type of chamber and treatment, the temperature inside the chamber will range from -166 degrees Fahrenheit to -256 degrees Fahrenheit (-110 to -160°C). Sessions are limited to 3-4 minutes due to very cold temperatures.

For many years, whole body cryostimulation has been used to help athletes. recovery from injury. Cryotherapy chambers can now be found in fitness clubs and gyms.

Additionally, whole-body cryostimulation is currently being investigated as a treatment option for conditions such as: Diabetes, depressionand chronic pain.

It is not a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment, as it is still experimental and has limited evidence to support its effectiveness.Additionally, both FDA The American Academy of Dermatology warns people of the potential risks of whole-body freezing irritation, including frostbite, burns, and even suffocation.

For this study Dr. Jacopo Fontana, scientific researcher at the Institute of Biomechanics, Rehabilitation and Ergonomics at the Istituto Auxologico Italiano Piancavallo IRCCS at the San Giuseppe Hospital in Oggebbio, Italy, and lead author of the study and his team employed 29 people. Research participants.

all had a BMI Over 30 kilograms per square meter, which is considered a sign of obesity. All study participants were hospitalized for a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program that included personalized dietary planning, psychological support, and supervised exercise.

Study participants were non-randomly assigned to either a group receiving ten 2-minute whole-body freezing stimulation sessions over a two-week period or a control group receiving the same intervention at a non-freezing stimulation temperature.

Upon analysis, the research team found that levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol were reduced in both study groups, but the reduction was doubled in the whole-body freezing group.

“We weren’t surprised by this result, but we were even more surprised to see such an effect already at minus 55 degrees, meaning that at that temperature the freezing stimulus was already effective, albeit weakly.” It means that we are demonstrating the medical news today.

In addition, the scientists found that blood glucose and waist circumference measurements were reduced in both study groups, but were even more significantly reduced in the whole-body cryo-stimulation group.

“I was surprised to see the effect so early, at -55 degrees,” commented Dr. Fontana.

“These results further underscore the importance of temperature. It suggests that it may also induce long-lasting regulatory effects.”

– Dr. Jacopo Fontana

Dr. Fontana said that although study participants were already participating in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, whole-body cryostimulation, due to its rapid anti-inflammatory and prokinetic effects, was associated with poor adherence to rehabilitation protocols due to pain and inflammation. Said it could help people.

“Mood, sleep, and Malaise It may help reduce potential barriers to adherence to rehabilitation programs in a variety of neurological and frailty conditions,” he added.

“Although the improvements in fat and blood sugar were particularly evident, future research will focus on defining freezer temperature, duration, and frequency of exposure specific to the obese condition and tailoring them to maximize benefit in this population.” We need larger, controlled studies,” said Dr. Fontana. Added.

MNT We also spoke with Dr. Mil Ali, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the Memorial Care Surgery Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, who was not involved in the study.

Some researchers have wondered if the cold could help stimulate different types of the body, he said. fat cellsspeeds up the body’s metabolism and breaks down more fat.

“It doesn’t seem like a viable solution to significant weight loss,” continued Dr. Ali. “It may be adjunctive to other measures such as diet, exercise, surgery, medication, etc., but I don’t see it as a viable weight loss solution in and of itself.”

“The majority of weight loss is diet, whatever you do,” he added. “To see big results, you need to change your diet and make a big change in your lifestyle.”

Dr. Fontana said that the effects of heat stress on the human body’s physiological responses have unique characteristics that could be further exploited as an add-on treatment for obesity, so the research team will study the effects of whole-body cryostimulation on obesity. It is said that he decided to management of this state.

“Whole body cryostimulation may serve as a ‘training method’ for the autonomic nervous system, a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent, and thus may serve as an adjunctive therapy in a variety of conditions of rehabilitation interest.” A growing number of studies suggest that there is It’s a treatment that has a beneficial effect on body composition and adipose tissue,” he said. MNT.

This isn’t the first time freezing stimulation has been done Studied As a treatment for obesity. For example, a 2020 study found that whole-body cryotherapy helped reduce symptoms. abdominal obesity for menopausal women.

And another 2015 study found that whole-body cold stimulation helped lower body temperature. inflammation for obese men. however, 2022 Literature Review found that, although the results to date were promising, definitive evidence for the efficacy of whole-body cryostimulation for obesity was lacking, and large-scale, high-quality studies were essential.