Exercise with Energy Restriction as a Means of Losing Body Mass while Preserving Muscle Quality and Ameliorating Co-morbidities: Towards a Therapy for Obesity?

Abstract

Exercise with Energy Restriction as a Means of Losing Body Mass while Preserving Muscle Quality and Ameliorating Co-morbidities: Towards a Therapy for Obesity? Antonia Giacco1*, Elena Silvestri1*, Rosalba Senese2, Federica Cioffi1, Arianna Cuomo2, Assunta Lombardi3, Maria Moreno1, Antonia Lanni2 and Pieter de Lange()2 1Dipartimento di Science e Tecnologie, Università degli Studi del Sannio, Benevento, Italy 2Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Caserta, Italy 3Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II," Napoli, Italy © The Authors Abstract Obesity and related co-morbidities are a major public health threat worldwide, and efforts to counteract obesity by means of physiological interventions are currently being explored and applied. Here we present an overview of the literature on the effect of dietary/exercise-based programs on loss of different components of body mass. We also discuss gain or lack of loss of lean mass in view of muscle quality maintenance, which is an important aspect to consider when employing weight-loss strategies to tackle obesity. By comparing results obtained in participants with mild to severe obesity with those obtained in lean participants, we highlight variations in the success of these interventions. Furthermore, we briefly address the observation that although certain interventions may not always affect body composition they can nevertheless ameliorate co-morbidities (insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Based on what is currently known, in this narrative review we include data from human and animal studies related to the process of unravelling the mechanisms underlying conservation of functional muscle mass.

Mild Endurance Exercise during Fasting Increases Gastrocnemius Muscle and Prefrontal Cortex Thyroid Hormone Levels through Differential BHB and BCAA-Mediated BDNF-mTOR Signaling in Rats

“…Weight loss by nutritional interventions often leads to muscle weakness [ 1 ]. In studies focusing on evaluating optimal weight-loss strategies, mild endurance exercise has emerged to be sufficient to counteract the negative impact of various energy-restricting nutritional interventions on muscle strength and quality in obese and non-obese subjects (see, for review, [ 1 ]), and in rodents alternate fasting and exercise has likewise been shown to improve endurance performance [ 2 ].…”

“…Weight loss by nutritional interventions often leads to muscle weakness [ 1 ]. In studies focusing on evaluating optimal weight-loss strategies, mild endurance exercise has emerged to be sufficient to counteract the negative impact of various energy-restricting nutritional interventions on muscle strength and quality in obese and non-obese subjects (see, for review, [ 1 ]), and in rodents alternate fasting and exercise has likewise been shown to improve endurance performance [ 2 ]. In this light, at the biochemical level there exists evidence for a compensatory role for exercise on fasting-mediated protein breakdown linked to insulin-independent reactivation of Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) C1 signaling in mice [ 3 ] and humans [ 4 ], which would impact muscle mass and quality.…”

“…Since BHB, BCAA, and T3 tissue levels in response to exercise or exercise with fasting in target tissues have not been studied, we investigated whether mild endurance exercise during fasting modulated BDNF-mTOR signaling in relation to BHB and BCAA tissue levels, and whether this would alter T3 tissue levels using male Wistar rats. The low exercise intensity was chosen with the aim to minimalize the effects of the intervention per se while inducing biochemical pathways related to the preservation of muscle mass when combined with fasting, a phenotype that emerges from similar interventions in human subjects [ 1 ].…”

Diet, Exercise, and the Metabolic Syndrome: Enrollment of the Mitochondrial Machinery

“…Together with dietary interventions, exercise therapy helps to both prevent and mitigate the impact of MS. Chronic resistance and endurance exercise training, alone or in combination, reduce body weight, blood pressure, and improve lipid profiles, e.g., raising high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and lowering triglycerides [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The most beneficial effects of exercise training have been reported on IR [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”