Abstract
PURPOSE: This study assessed how individuals compensate for energy expended during a 12-wk aerobic exercise intervention, elucidating potential mechanisms and the role exercise dose plays in the compensatory response.
PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN: Three-arm, randomized controlled trial among sedentary adults age 18 to 40 yr, body mass index of 25 to 35. Groups included six exercise sessions per week, two sessions per week, and sedentary control.
METHODS: Rate of exercise energy expenditure was calculated from a graded exercise test averaged across five heart rate zones. Energy compensation was calculated as the difference between expected weight loss (based on exercise energy expenditure) and changes in fat and fat-free mass (DXA). Resting energy expenditure was assessed via indirect calorimetry and concentrations of acylated ghrelin, leptin, insulin, and Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) were assessed fasting and postprandial (six timepoints over 2 h).
RESULTS: The 6-d·wk−1 group expended more energy (2753.5 kcal) and exercised longer (320.5 min) per week than the 2-d·wk−1 group (1490.7 kcal, 1888.8 min, P < 0.05), resulting in greater fat loss compared with the 2-d or control groups (P < 0.05). Exercise groups did not differ in the % or total kcal compensated. Greater decreases in area under the curve (AUC) for acylated ghrelin predicted greater fat loss, regardless of group, energy expended per week, exercise duration, or exercise intensity. Changes in leptin AUC was the only independent predictor for energy compensation, with a greater decrease in leptin AUC predicting less energy compensation. Exercise frequency, energy expended, duration, or intensity did not influence energy compensation.
CONCLUSIONS: Leptin is an important factor in successful weight loss through exercise, with greater postprandial decreases promoting less compensation. Greater amounts of exercise do not influence the compensatory response to an exercise-induced energy deficit.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2020
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000002376
Funding Information
The project described was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998.
Repository Citation
Flack, Kyle D.; Hays, Harry M.; Moreland, Jack; and Long, Douglas E., "Exercise for Weight Loss: Further Evaluating Energy Compensation with Exercise" (2020). Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications. 24.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/foodsci_facpub/24
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, v. 52, issue 11.
© 2020 The Author(s)
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.