Journal of Eexercise & Organ Cross Talk

The effect of short-term sprint interval training on bone density of male Wistar rats under western diet

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Tehran-Qom freeway, Opposite to the holly shrine of Imam Khomeini, Shahed University

2 Shahed University, Opposite the Holy Shrine, Persian Gulf Highway, Tehran, Iran

10.22122/jeoct.2026.575286.1193
Abstract
Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sprint interval training on Markers of bone metabolism and bone density in Male Wistar Rats under unhealthy high fat, sugar, salt Diet.

Methods: The study design was an 8-week protocol consisting of three groups: Control (CO), Western diet (WD) and Western diet+Sprint interval training (SIT) (WD/SIT). WD rats received a high-fat, sugar, and salt diet, while WD/SIT rats followed the same diet combined with sprint interval training.

Results: The one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences between groups for all variables (p<0.05). Effect sizes (η²) ranged from 0.47 to 0.99, indicating large effects for bone density (η²=0.99), ALP(η²=0.77), phosphorus (η²=0.74), and calcium (η²=0.47). Post-hoc analysis by LSD test showed that the WD group exhibited a significantly lower femur bone density percentage (24.09±2.32) compared to both the control (58.40±1.64) and WD/SIT (47.67±1.60) groups (p<0.001). Regarding bone metabolism markers, the WD/SIT group demonstrated significantly reduced serum ALP levels (195.67±20.83IU/L) compared to the control (248.33±29.30IU/L) and WD (253.17±38.46IU/L) groups (p<0.001). For serum phosphorus, the WD/SIT group (5.68±0.58 mg/dL) was significantly lower than the control (7.68±0.63 mg/dL) and WD (8.58±0.78mg/dL) groups (p<0.001). Furthermore, serum calcium levels in the control group (10.27±0.80 mg/dL) were significantly higher than in the WD/SIT (8.92±0.61 mg/dL) and WD (9.18 ± 0.28 mg/dL) groups (p< 0.01).

Conclusion: These results indicate that a high-calorie, high-salt diet had a negative effect on bone metabolism. However, sprint interval training partially attenuated these adverse effects.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 April 2026

  • Receive Date 11 February 2026
  • Revise Date 27 February 2026
  • Accept Date 23 April 2026