Those with obesity displayed twice the improvement in cholesterol levels and other blood fat measurements after undergoing extreme cold therapy for a short period of time, and significant decreases in both waist size and blood sugar levels in comparison to untreated controls, according to the researchers.
Jacopo Fontana, a researcher at the Istituto Auxologico Piancavallo IRCCS in Italy, explains that whole-body cryostimulation “can increase the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, as well as act as a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment, which together can have beneficial effects on body composition including the proportion of adipose tissue.”
This treatment is suggested to have also been helpful as a complementary therapy for other conditions such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions, and long COVID, however, this study only investigated the potential helpfulness of whole-body cryostimulation with weight loss.
Dr. Jacopo Fontana, of the Istituto Auxologico Piancavallo IRCCS, Italy, said: “We know from previous research that WBC can have powerful effects on the human body. It can increase the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, as well as act as a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment, which together can have beneficial effects on body composition including the proportion of adipose tissue.”
“A growing body of work suggests that WBC is useful adjuvant, or add-on, therapy for a range of conditions, namely rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions and long COVID. We wanted to investigate its potential adjuvant role in the treatment of obesity.”
For this study 29 obese participants were hospitalized for a rehab program that included diet and exercise, randomly selecting some of them to be part of a group to undergo 10 two-minute sessions of whole-body cryostimulation over two weeks. During treatments inside a cryochamber the temperature was lowered to -110 degrees Celsius, those in the control group received the same rehab plan at the non-cryostimulating temperature of -55 degrees Celsius.
While both groups displayed decreases in triglyceride and cholesterol levels, the drop was twice as big for those in the whole-body cryostimulation group, with triglyceride levels falling by 17% in the treatment group compared to an 8.7% drop in the controls. Both groups also experienced decreases in blood sugar levels as well as waist circumferences, but the differences were greater in the treatment group. Additionally, both groups experienced increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, but the increase was greater in the treatment group, according to the researchers.
“Activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, or parasympathetic tone, is associated in clinical studies with mental and physical well-being and a lower risk of mortality, particularly with regard to cardiovascular disease,” explains Fontana. “An increase in parasympathetic tone, as seen here, has potential short and long-term health benefits for participants.”
The researchers concluded that in this case, the added benefits experienced from whole-body cryostimulation to body composition, metabolism, and blood levels suggest that the approach is helpful in a weight loss program for those with obesity.
The researchers suggest that the low temperature forces the body to convert white fat to brown fat, and brown fat is considered to be good fat in which sugar and fat molecules are broken down to create heat and maintain body temperature.
Dr. Fontana adds: “Our results indicate that whole-body cryostimulation is beneficial in the treatment of obesity. The improvements in blood fats and glucose were particularly striking but larger studies of a longer duration are needed to confirm these preliminary results.”
