Objective: To investigate the effects of martial arts training on body composition, cardiopulmonary fitness, and arterial stiffness in college students. And evaluate the potential benefits of martial arts training on cardiovascular health through medical imaging detection methods. Method: In this experiment, 60 college students with similar body types were recruited from Chengdu Institute of Physical Education. They were randomly and equally divided into experimental and control groups, with 30 students in each group. Students in the experimental group underwent one year of martial arts training, while the control group did not perform any regular physical exercise. Martial arts training includes martial arts-based training, set training, and equipment training. It was conducted four times a week for 60 min each time. Before and after the martial arts training, the measurements of physical, cardiopulmonary and other indicators of the college students were statistically analyzed using SPSS26.0 statistical software. At the same time, the introduction of medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography angiography (CTA) was used to evaluate the cardiovascular system of college students, observing changes in the structure, function, and hardness of arterial walls. Results: All college students completed this martial arts training experiment. After one year of martial arts training, the college students in the experimental group showed significant improvement in body composition (body weight, body mass index, adiposity, body fat percentage) and cardiopulmonary fitness (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, maximal oxygen uptake, and time to exhaustion), and the differences were significant (P > 0.05). Meanwhile, martial arts training also significantly reduced arterial stiffness (baPWV reduction) in college students. Further analysis showed that reductions in body weight, body mass index, and body fat percent were positively correlated with reduced arterial stiffness, whereas elevated maximal oxygen uptake in cardiopulmonary fitness was negatively correlated with reduced arterial stiffness. In addition, CTA examination results showed that the arterial walls of the experimental group of college students were smoother, the arterial lumen was enlarged, the vascular elasticity increased, and the arterial hardness decreased. No significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: After one year of systematic martial arts training, the college students achieved significant improvements in body composition, cardiopulmonary fitness and arterial stiffness. Moreover, the trend of arterial stiffness of college students can be reflected by the indicators of body and cardiopulmonary fitness, which can be used to effectively evaluate the occurrence of cardiovascular disease.
