Effects of an Exercise and Diet Program on Biochemistry and Body Composition in Patients With CKD in G1 and G2 Stages

Chronic kidney disease has a high mortality rate per year, which has led to the search for different intervention strategies to improve adherence to treatment and the promotion of healthy behaviors such as diet and exercise. The latter has been little explored in early stages (G1 and G2) even though its implementation can have an impact on the biochemical parameters of patients and delay their progression. Exercise represents a non-pharmacological, non-invasive, and cost-effective method in health promotion, as it can reduce biomarkers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, among others. Despite this, statistics show that 27% of adults in the world do not do the 150 minutes of exercise per week recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Regarding medical indications for exercise, there is a prevailing resistance in the medical community regarding its recommendation, given that proteinuria and/or changes in blood pressure linked to this activity are considered to have an impact on renal function. Existing exercise recommendations and proposals are focused on patients on peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis. One of the most widespread in this patient population are the recommendations made by the WHO for older people with chronic conditions, and more specifically, there are the kidney disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines, however, both give general recommendations, and it has been pointed out as a point of opportunity to explore exercise in this population. The published interventions are limited and do not include biochemical parameters in most of them, nor the physical aptitudes of the patients when performing exercise. On the other hand, it has been identified that the reduction of complications in these patients is associated with healthy behaviors, such as exercise, greater adherence to diet and pharmacological treatment. Several structural barriers have been detected, such as ideological barriers, beliefs, access to treatments, among others, which influence patients' lack of adherence to the plans. Considering the above, the aim of the present research will be to analyze the effects of an exercise program and a protein-controlled diet using an educational intervention on biochemical parameters, muscle strength and body composition in patients with chronic kidney disease in stage G1 and G2. The intervention will be for 3 months and will have two groups: one will follow an exercise program designed for each participant; the second group will follow the exercise recommendation proposed by the KDIGO 2022 guidelines. Both groups will have a personalized dietary plan, educational sessions, body composition and muscle strength assessment monthly. Biochemical parameters such as: creatinine, cystatin C, glucose, urea, urinary sediment, among others, will be evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the intervention to compare changes. Regarding adherence to both the exercise program and the diet, we will seek to reduce the patients' structural barriers by means of educational sessions based on the health belief model (HBM). Topics such as: knowledge of the disease, culinary techniques, barriers that prevent adherence to treatment, among others, will be taught. This project is expected to generate novel knowledge regarding the impact of an educational intervention combined with exercise in patients with chronic kidney disease in early stages. This information may be relevant to guide recommendations in clinical practice guidelines, in addition to promoting the adoption of healthy behaviors such as structured exercise.