1OBJECTIVE-Obesity and diabetes are characterized by the incapacity to use fat as fuel. We hypothesized that this reduced fat oxidation is secondary to a sedentary lifestyle.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-We investigated the effect of a 2-month bed rest on the dietary oleate and palmitate trafficking in lean women (control group, n ϭ 8) and the effect of concomitant resistance/aerobic exercise training as a countermeasure (exercise group, n ϭ 8). Trafficking of stable isotope-labeled dietary fats was combined with muscle gene expression and magnetic resonance imaging-derived muscle fat content analyses. 31 ]palmitate oxidation by Ϫ8.2 Ϯ 4.9% (P Ͻ 0.0001). Despite a decreased spontaneous energy intake and a reduction of 1.9 Ϯ 0.3 kg (P ϭ 0.001) in fat mass, exercise training did not mitigate these alterations but partially maintained fat-free mass, insulin sensitivity, and total lipid oxidation in fasting and fed states. In both groups, muscle fat content increased by 2.7% after bed rest and negatively correlated with the reduction in [d 31 ]palmitate oxidation (r 2 ϭ 0.48, P ϭ 0.003). I n our search of the environmental factors that fuelled the pandemic of obesity, we face a paradox. Although sedentary lifestyle has been highlighted for decades as one of the main factors triggering weight gain, the physiology of physical inactivity has received little attention (1). Clearly, the causal relationships between sedentary behaviors and obesity are essentially based on epidemiological studies or on the indirect beneficial effects of exercise training (2). None of these studies provide evidence to support a cause-and-effect relationship.
RESULTS-In
CONCLUSIONS-WhileObesity is a fat storage disease characterized by insulin resistance and a decreased capacity to oxidize lipids (3) in fasting (4) and postprandial (5) conditions. Because weight reduction was not associated with improvement in fat utilization (6), it was suggested as a primary impairment in the etiology of obesity, rather than an adaptive response. Consequently, the delineation of the causes responsible for this reduced capacity to oxidize fat appears to be a fundamental prerequisite to develop efficient strategies against obesity.We previously extended the early Mayer hypothesis (7) and hypothesized that the decreased fat oxidation observed in obese and postobese subjects is due to the generalized adoption of sedentary behaviors (8). Using strict bed rest as a model, we showed that physical inactivity, per se (i.e., independent of the known physical inactivity-induced energy balance changes), lowers fasting and postprandial fat oxidation (9). Unexpectedly, whereas monounsaturated dietary fat (oleate) oxidation remained unaffected by bed rest, saturated fat (palmitate) oxidation decreased by 11% (9). These results are interesting when considering the north/south gradient in obesity prevalence in France that was not associated with the overall energy intake but in the greater amount of saturated fat in the diet (10).The main objective of our present study wa...