Effect of Exercise Training Intensity on Abdominal Visceral Fat and Body Composition

As men age, serum testosterone (T) concentrations decrease, as do fitness, strength and lean mass. Whether testosterone treatment confers additive benefit to reverse these changes when combined with exercise training in middle-to-older aged men remains unclear. We assessed the effects of T treatment and exercise, alone and in combination, on aerobic capacity (VO2peak), body composition and muscular strength in men 50-70yrs, waist circumference ≥95cm and low-normal serum T (6-14nmol·L−1). Participants (n=80) were randomised to AndroForte5® (Testosterone 5.0%w/v, 100mg/2mL) cream (T), or matching placebo (P), applied transdermally daily, and supervised centre-based exercise (Ex) or no additional exercise (NEx), for 12-weeks. Exercise increased VO2peak and strength vs non-exercise (VO2peak: T+Ex:+2.5, P+Ex:+3.2mL·kg−1·min−1, P<0.001; leg press: T+Ex:+31, P+Ex:+24kg, P=0.006). T treatment did not affect VO2peak or strength. Exercise decreased total (T+Ex:-1.7, P+Ex-2.3kg, P<0.001) and visceral fat (T+Ex:-0.1, P+Ex:-0.3kg, P=0.003), and increased total (T+Ex:+1.4, P+Ex:+0.7kg, P=0.008) and arm lean mass (T+Ex:+0.5, P+Ex:+0.3kg, P=0.024). T treatment did not affect total or visceral fat, but increased total (T+Ex:+1.4, T+NEx:+0.7kg, P=0.015), leg (T+Ex:+0.3, T+NEx:+0.2kg, P=0.024) and arm lean mass (T+Ex:+0.5, T+NEx:+0.2kg, P=0.046). T+Ex increased arm lean mass (T+Ex:+0.5kg vs P+NEx:-0.0kg, P=0.001) and leg strength (T+Ex:+31 vs P+NEx:+12kg, P=0.032) compared to P+NEx, with no other additive effects. Exercise training was more effective than T treatment in increasing aerobic capacity and decreasing total and visceral fat mass. T treatment at therapeutic doses increased lean mass but conferred limited additional benefit when combined with exercise. Exercise should be evaluated as an anti-ageing intervention in preference to testosterone treatment in men.

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Abstract 075: Differences In Body Composition At Baseline And In Response To Exercise Training By Metabolic Health And Weight Status

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.143.suppl_1.075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Jones ◽

Jacob L Barber ◽

James S Skinner ◽

Claude Bouchard ◽

Mark A Sarzynski

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Weight Status ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Metabolic Health ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Obese Adults ◽

Change Models ◽

Metabolically Healthy

Background: Body composition is known to differ across metabolic health and weight phenotypes. Regular exercise improves body composition, yet little is known about differences in exercise response across metabolic health and weight phenotypes. Methods: Normal weight (n=376) and overweight/obese (OWOB) adults (n=456) from the HERITAGE Family Study (56% female, 38% Black) completed a 20-week endurance training program. Four groups based on baseline BMI and metabolic risk were created: metabolically healthy normal weight, MHNW; metabolically unhealthy normal weight, MUNW; metabolically healthy OWOB, MHO; and metabolically unhealthy OWOB, MUO. Unhealthy was defined as having ≥2 metabolic syndrome components. General linear models tested for differences in baseline and change in measures of body composition (fat mass [FM], fat-free mass [FFM], % body fat [%BF], visceral fat) after adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity (and baseline value in change models). Results: Table 1 shows adjusted mean baseline and change in body composition values by group. Baseline body composition tended to track with weight status, with NW adults having lower FM, %BF, and visceral fat compared to obese adults (p<0.05), regardless of metabolic health. However, the MHO group had lower baseline values of these traits compared to MUO (p<0.05). Body composition measures significantly improved with exercise training in all groups, however, the magnitude of change differed between groups. For example, both NW groups had larger decreases in %BF compared to the obese groups, with MUNW showing the largest decrease. Conversely, MHNW showed the largest decrease in visceral fat, which was greater than both obese groups, but change in visceral fat was similar between MHO and MUNW. Conclusions: Normal weight adults tended to have better body composition profiles at baseline and larger improvements with exercise compared to obese adults, regardless of metabolic health. Within weight groups, body composition improved regardless of metabolic health status.

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Exercise training‐induced visceral fat loss in obese women: The role of training intensity and modality

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports ◽

10.1111/sms.13803 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 30-43

Author(s):

Haifeng Zhang ◽

Tomas K. Tong ◽

Zhaowei Kong ◽

Qingde Shi ◽

Yang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exercise Training ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Obese Women ◽

Training Intensity ◽

Fat Loss

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Subcutaneous obesity is not associated with sympathetic neural activation

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.01046.2003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 287 (1) ◽

pp. H414-H418 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Guy E. Alvarez ◽

Tasha P. Ballard ◽

Stacy D. Beske ◽

Kevin P. Davy

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Composition ◽

Body Mass ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽

Fat Distribution ◽

Neural Activation ◽

Abdominal Visceral Fat ◽

Regional Fat Distribution ◽

Plasma Leptin

We tested the hypothesis that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) would not differ in subcutaneously obese (SUBOB) and nonobese (NO) men with similar levels of abdominal visceral fat despite higher plasma leptin concentrations in the former. We further hypothesized that abdominal visceral fat would be the strongest body composition- or regional fat distribution-related correlate of MSNA among these individuals. To accomplish this, we measured MSNA (via microneurography), body composition (via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), and abdominal fat distribution (via computed tomography) in 15 NO (body mass index ≤ 25 kg/m2; 22.4 ± 1.4 yr) and 9 SUBOB (25 ≤ body mass index ≤ 35 kg/m2; 23.4 ± 2.1 yr) sedentary men. As expected, body mass (94 ± 4 vs. 71 ± 2 kg), total fat mass (25 ± 2 vs. 12 ± 1 kg), and abdominal subcutaneous fat (307 ± 36 vs. 132 ± 12 cm2) were significantly higher in the SUBOB group compared with NO peers. However, the level of abdominal visceral fat did not differ significantly in the two groups (69 ± 7 vs. 55 ± 5 cm2). MSNA was not different between SUBOB and NO men (23 ± 3 vs. 24 ± 2 bursts/min; P > 0.05, respectively) despite ∼2.6-fold higher ( P < 0.05) plasma leptin concentration in the SUBOB men. Furthermore, abdominal visceral fat was the only body composition- or regional fat distribution-related correlate ( r = 0.45; P < 0.05) of MSNA in the pooled sample. In addition, abdominal visceral fat was related to MSNA in NO ( r = 0.58; P = 0.0239) but not SUBOB ( r = 0.39; P = 0.3027) men. Taken together with our previous observations, our findings suggest that the relation between obesity and MSNA is phenotype dependent. The relation between abdominal visceral fat and MSNA was evident in NO but not in SUBOB men and at levels of abdominal visceral fat below the level typically associated with elevated cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk. Our observations do not support an obvious role for leptin in contributing to sympathetic neural activation in human obesity and, in turn, are inconsistent with the concept of selective leptin resistance.

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Assessing the utility of cardiorespiratory fitness, visceral fat, and liver fat in predicting changes in insulin sensitivity beyond simple changes in body weight after exercise training in adolescents

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/apnm-2020-0284 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 55-62

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Kuk ◽

SoJung Lee

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Body Weight ◽

Insulin Sensitivity ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Glucose Tolerance ◽

Weight Change ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Liver Fat ◽

Body Weight Change ◽

Sensitivity Changes

To examine the utility of changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition in response to exercise training in adolescents with obesity beyond simple measures of body weight change. This is a secondary analysis of our previously published randomized trials of aerobic, resistance, and combined training. We included 104 adolescents (body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile) who had complete baseline and post-intervention data for CRF, regional body fat, insulin sensitivity, and oral glucose tolerance. Associations between changes in body composition and CRF with cardiometabolic variables were examined adjusted for age, sex, Tanner stage, race, exercise group, and weight loss. At baseline, CRF, visceral fat and liver fat were correlated with insulin sensitivity with and without adjustment for BMI percentile. Training-associated changes in CRF, visceral fat, and liver fat were also correlated with insulin sensitivity changes, but not independent of body weight change. After accounting for body weight change, none of the body composition or CRF were associated with changes in insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, systolic blood pressure, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Although CRF and body composition were strong independent correlates of insulin sensitivity at baseline, changes in CRF and visceral fat were not associated with changes in insulin sensitivity after accounting for body weight change. Clinicaltrials.gov registration nos.: NCT00739180, NCT01323088, NCT01938950. Novelty With exercise training, changes in body weight, CRF, visceral fat, and liver fat were correlated with changes in insulin sensitivity. Changes in body composition or CRF generally did not remain significant correlates of changes in insulin sensitivity after adjusting for body weight changes.

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The prediction of abdominal visceral fat level from body composition and anthropometry: ROC analysis

International Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1038/sj.ijo.0800929 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 23 (8) ◽

pp. 801-809 ◽

Cited By ~ 240

Author(s):

T Rankinen ◽

S-Y Kim ◽

L Pérusse ◽

J-P Després ◽

C Bouchard

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Roc Analysis ◽

Fat Level ◽

Abdominal Visceral Fat

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Association between aerobic exercise training effects of serum adropin level, arterial stiffness, and adiposity in obese elderly adults

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/apnm-2016-0310 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 8-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Shumpei Fujie ◽

Natsuki Hasegawa ◽

Toshiyuki Kurihara ◽

Kiyoshi Sanada ◽

Takafumi Hamaoka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exercise Training ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Aerobic Exercise Training ◽

Training Effects ◽

Obese Adults ◽

Abdominal Visceral Fat ◽

The Relationship

Serum levels of adropin, which enhances endothelial cell release of nitric oxide (NO), are lower in obese patients. Although habitual aerobic exercise reduces arterial stiffness and adiposity, the relationship between these effects and circulating levels of adropin remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine if serum adropin level is associated with the effects of aerobic exercise training on arterial stiffness and adiposity in obese adults. In Experiment 1, we examined whether serum adropin levels are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, carotid β-stiffness, plasma nitrite/nitrate (NOx) level, and abdominal visceral fat in 27 normal, 20 overweight, and 25 obese adults (age, 41–79 years). In Experiment 2, we examined the effects of an 8-week aerobic exercise training program on the relationship between serum adropin level and arterial stiffness or adiposity in 13 obese adults (age, 54–76 years). Serum adropin levels in normal, overweight, and obese adults negatively correlated with carotid β-stiffness and abdominal visceral fat, and positively correlated with plasma NOx level and cardiorespiratory fitness. After the 8-week exercise program, serum adropin levels in obese adults were elevated, and correlated with training-induced changes in carotid β-stiffness (r = –0.573, P < 0.05), plasma NOx level (r = 0.671, P < 0.05), and abdominal visceral fat (r = –0.585, P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the exercise training-induced increase in serum adropin may be related to the training effects of arterial stiffness and adiposity in obese adults.

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Extended Ketogenic Diet and Physical Training Intervention in Military Personnel

Military Medicine ◽

10.1093/milmed/usz046 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 184 (9-10) ◽

pp. e538-e547 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Richard A LaFountain ◽

Vincent J Miller ◽

Emily C Barnhart ◽

Parker N Hyde ◽

Christopher D Crabtree ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Body Composition ◽

Insulin Sensitivity ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Physical Performance ◽

Body Mass ◽

Military Personnel ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Whole Body ◽

Ketogenic Diets

AbstractIntroductionKetogenic diets (KDs) that elevate ketones into a range referred to as nutritional ketosis represent a possible nutrition approach to address the emerging physical readiness and obesity challenge in the military. An emerging body of evidence demonstrates broad-spectrum health benefits attributed to being in nutritional ketosis, but no studies have specifically explored the use of a KD in a military population using daily ketone monitoring to personalize the diet prescription.Materials and MethodsTo evaluate the feasibility, metabolic, and performance responses of an extended duration KD, healthy adults (n = 29) from various military branches participated in a supervised 12-wk exercise training program. Fifteen participants self-selected to an ad libitum KD guided by daily measures of capillary blood ketones and 14 continued their normal mixed diet (MD). A battery of tests were performed before and after the intervention to assess changes in body mass, body composition, visceral fat, liver fat, insulin sensitivity, resting energy metabolism, and physical performance.ResultsAll KD subjects were in nutritional ketosis during the intervention as assessed by daily capillary beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) (mean βHB 1.2 mM reported 97% of all days) and showed higher rates of fat oxidation indicative of keto-adaptation. Despite no instruction regarding caloric intake, the KD group lost 7.7 kg body mass (range −3.5 to −13.6 kg), 5.1% whole-body percent fat (range −0.5 to −9.6%), 43.7% visceral fat (range 3.0 to −66.3%) (all p < 0.001), and had a 48% improvement in insulin sensitivity; there were no changes in the MD group. Adaptations in aerobic capacity, maximal strength, power, and military-specific obstacle course were similar between groups (p > 0.05).ConclusionsUS military personnel demonstrated high adherence to a KD and showed remarkable weight loss and improvements in body composition, including loss of visceral fat, without compromising physical performance adaptations to exercise training. Implementation of a KD represents a credible strategy to enhance overall health and readiness of military service members who could benefit from weight loss and improved body composition.

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