This study evaluated the influence of a green tea catechin beverage on body composition and fat distribution in overweight and obese adults during exercise-induced weight loss. Participants (n = 132 with 107 completers) were randomly assigned to receive a beverage containing approximately 625 mg of catechins with 39 mg caffeine or a control beverage (39 mg caffeine, no catechins) for 12 wk. Participants were asked to maintain constant energy intake and engage in >or=180 min/wk moderate intensity exercise, including >or=3 supervised sessions per week. Body composition (dual X-ray absorptiometry), abdominal fat areas (computed tomography), and clinical laboratory tests were measured at baseline and wk 12. There was a trend (P = 0.079) toward greater loss of body weight in the catechin group compared with the control group; least squares mean (95% CI) changes, adjusted for baseline value, age, and sex, were -2.2 (-3.1, -1.3) and -1.0 (-1.9, -0.1) kg, respectively. Percentage changes in fat mass did not differ between the catechin [5.2 (-7.0, -3.4)] and control groups [-3.5 (-5.4, 1.6)] (P = 0.208). However, percentage changes in total abdominal fat area [-7.7 (-11.7, -3.8) vs. -0.3 (-4.4, 3.9); P = 0.013], subcutaneous abdominal fat area [-6.2 (-10.2, -2.2) vs. 0.8 (-3.3, 4.9); P = 0.019], and fasting serum triglycerides (TG) [-11.2 (-18.8, -3.6) vs. 1.9 (-5.9, 9.7); P = 0.023] were greater in the catechin group. These findings suggest that green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced changes in abdominal fat and serum TG.

Background/Objectives:Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a potential therapeutic target against obesity and diabetes through thermogenesis and substrate disposal with cold exposure. The role of BAT in energy metabolism under thermoneutral conditions, however, remains controversial. We assessed the contribution of BAT to energy expenditure (EE), particularly diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), and substrate utilization in human adults.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, BAT activity was evaluated in 21 men using 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) after cold exposure (19 °C). The subjects were divided into BAT-positive (n=13) and BAT-negative (n=8) groups according to the 18F-FDG-PET/CT findings. Twenty-four hour EE, DIT and respiratory quotient were measured using a whole-room indirect calorimeter at 27 °C.Results:Body composition, blood metabolites and 24-h EE did not differ between groups. DIT (%), calculated as DIT divided by total energy intake, however, was significantly higher in the BAT-positive group (BAT-positive: 9.7±2.5%, BAT-negative: 6.5±4.0%, P=0.03). The 24-h respiratory quotient was significantly lower (P=0.03) in the BAT-positive group (0.861±0.027) than in the BAT-negative group (0.889±0.024).Conclusion:DIT and fat utilization were higher in BAT-positive subjects compared to BAT-negative subjects, suggesting that BAT has a physiologic role in energy metabolism.

The thermogenic effects of green tea catechin have been repeatedly reported, but their mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic effects of catechin on brown adipose tissue (BAT), a site specialized for nonshivering thermogenesis, in humans. Fifteen healthy male volunteers underwent fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography to assess BAT activity. To examine the acute catechin effect, whole-body energy expenditure (EE) after a single oral ingestion of a beverage containing 615 mg catechin and 77 mg caffeine (catechin beverage) was measured. Next, to investigate the chronic catechin effects, 10 men with low BAT activity were enrolled. Before and after ingestion of the catechin beverage 2 times/d for 5 wk, cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT) after 2 h of cold exposure at 19°C, which is proportional to BAT activity, was examined. Both the acute and chronic trials were single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, season-matched crossover studies. A single ingestion of the catechin beverage increased EE in 9 subjects who had metabolically active BAT (mean ± SEM: +15.24 ± 1.48 kcal, < 0.01) but not in 6 subjects who had negligible activities (mean ± SEM: +3.42 ± 2.68 kcal). The ingestion of a placebo beverage containing 82 mg caffeine produced a smaller and comparative EE response in the 2 subject groups. Multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between BAT and catechin on EE (β = 0.496, = 0.003). Daily ingestion of the catechin beverage elevated mean ± SEM CIT (from 92.0 ± 26.5 to 197.9 ± 27.7 kcal/d; = 0.009), whereas the placebo beverage did not change it. Orally ingested tea catechin with caffeine acutely increases EE associated with increased BAT activity and chronically elevates nonshivering CIT, probably because of the recruitment of BAT, in humans. These trials were registered at www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ as UMIN000016361.

Whole body fat oxidation increases during exercise. However, 24-h fat oxidation on a day with exercise often remains similar to that of sedentary day, when energy intake is increased to achieve an energy-balanced condition. The present study aimed to examine a possibility that time of the day when exercise is performed makes differences in 24-h fat oxidation. As a potential mechanism of exercise affecting 24-h fat oxidation, its relation to exercise-induced transient energy deficit was examined. Nine young male endurance athletes underwent three trials of indirect calorimetry using a metabolic chamber, in which they performed a session of 100 min of exercise before breakfast (AM), after lunch (PM), or two sessions of 50 min of exercise before breakfast and after lunch (AM/PM) at 65% of maximal oxygen uptake. Experimental meals were designed to achieve individual energy balance. Twenty-four-hour energy expenditure was similar among the trials, but 24-h fat oxidation was 1,142 ± 97, 809 ± 88, and 608 ± 46 kcal/24 h in descending order of its magnitude for AM, AM/PM, and PM, respectively (P < 0.05). Twenty-four-hour carbohydrate oxidation was 2,558 ± 110, 2,374 ± 114, and 2,062 ± 96 kcal/24 h for PM, AM/PM, and AM, respectively. In spite of energy-balanced condition over 24 h, exercise induced a transient energy deficit, the magnitude of which was negatively correlated with 24-h fat oxidation (r = -0.72, P < 0.01). Similarly, transient carbohydrate deficit after exercise was negatively correlated with 24-h fat oxidation (r = -0.40, P < 0.05). The time of the day when exercise is performed affects 24-h fat oxidation, and the transient energy/carbohydrate deficit after exercise is implied as a factor affecting 24-h fat oxidation.

No abstract