Effects of follicle-stimulating hormone on energy balance and tissue metabolic health after loss of ovarian function.

Loss of ovarian function imparts increased susceptibility to obesity and metabolic disease. These effects are largely attributed to decreased estradiol (E2), but the role of increased follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in modulating energy balance has not been fully investigated. Previous work that blocked FSH binding to its receptor in mice suggested this hormone may play a part in modulating body weight and energy expenditure after ovariectomy (OVX). We used an alternate approach to isolate the individual and combined contributions of FSH and E2 in mediating energy imbalance and changes in tissue-level metabolic health. Female Wistar rats were ovariectomized and given the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist degarelix to suppress FSH production. E2 and FSH were then added back individually and in combination for a period of 3 wk. Energy balance, body mass composition, and transcriptomic profiles of individual tissues were obtained. In contrast to previous studies, suppression and replacement of FSH in our paradigm had no effect on body weight, body composition, food intake, or energy expenditure. We did, however, observe organ-specific effects of FSH that produced unique transcriptomic signatures of FSH in retroperitoneal white adipose tissue. These included reductions in biological processes related to lipogenesis and carbohydrate transport. In addition, rats administered FSH had reduced liver triglyceride concentration (P < 0.001), which correlated with FSH-induced changes at the transcriptomic level. Although not appearing to modulate energy balance after loss of ovarian function in rats, FSH may still impart tissue-specific effects in the liver and white adipose tissue that might affect the metabolic health of those organs.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We find no effect of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on energy balance using a novel model in which rats are ovariectomized, subjected to gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonism, and systematically given back FSH by osmotic pump. However, tissue-specific effects of FSH on adipose tissue and liver were observed in this study. These include unique transcriptomic signatures induced by the hormone and a stark reduction in hepatic triglyceride accumulation.

Compensatory eating behaviors in male and female rats in response to exercise training.

Exercise is often used as a strategy for weight loss maintenance. In preclinical models, we have shown that exercise may be beneficial because it counters the biological drive to regain weight. However, our studies have demonstrated sex differences in the response to exercise in this context. In the present study, we sought to better understand why females and males exhibit different compensatory food eating behaviors in response to regular exercise. Using a forced treadmill exercise paradigm, we measured weight gain, energy expenditure, food intake in real time, and the anorectic effects of leptin. The 4-wk exercise training resulted in reduced weight gain in males and sustained weight gain in females. In male rats, exercise decreased intake, whereas it increased food intake in females. Our results suggest that the anorectic effects of leptin were not responsible for these sex differences in appetite in response to exercise. If these results translate to the human condition, they may reveal important information for the use and application of regular exercise programs.

Compensation for cold-induced thermogenesis during weight loss maintenance and regain.

Prevalence of obesity is exacerbated by low rates of successful long-term weight loss maintenance (WLM). In part, relapse from WLM to obesity is due to a reduction in energy expenditure (EE) that persists throughout WLM and relapse. Thus, interventions that increase EE might facilitate WLM. In obese mice that were calorically restricted to reduce body weight by ~20%, we manipulated EE throughout WLM and early relapse using intermittent cold exposure (ICE; 4°C, 90 min/day, 5 days/wk, within the last 3 h of the light cycle). EE, energy intake, and spontaneous physical activity were measured during the obese, WLM, and relapse phases. During WLM and relapse, the ICE group expended more energy during the light cycle because of cold exposure but expended less energy in the dark cycle, which led to no overall difference in total daily EE. The compensation in EE appeared to be mediated by activity, whereby the ICE group was more active during the light cycle because of cold exposure but less active during the dark cycle, which led to no overall effect on total daily activity during WLM and relapse. In brown adipose tissue of relapsing mice, the ICE group had greater mRNA expression of Dio2 and protein expression of UCP1 but lower mRNA expression of Prdm16. In summary, these findings indicate that despite robust increases in EE during cold exposures, ICE is unable to alter total daily EE during WLM or early relapse, likely due to compensatory behaviors in activity.

Regular exercise potentiates energetically expensive hepatic de novo lipogenesis during early weight regain.

Exercise is a potent facilitator of long-term weight loss maintenance (WLM), whereby it decreases appetite and increases energy expenditure beyond the cost of the exercise bout. We have previously shown that exercise may amplify energy expenditure through energetically expensive nutrient deposition. Therefore, we investigated the effect of exercise on hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) during WLM and relapse to obesity. Obese rats were calorically restricted with (EX) or without (SED) treadmill exercise (1 h/day, 6 days/wk, 15 m/min) to induce and maintain weight loss. After 6 wk of WLM, subsets of WLM-SED and WLM-EX rats were allowed ad libitum access to food for 1 day to promote relapse (REL). An energy gap-matched group of sedentary, relapsing rats (REL-GM) were provided a diet matched to the positive energy imbalance of the REL-EX rats. During relapse, exercise increased enrichment of hepatic DN-derived lipids and induced hepatic molecular adaptations favoring DNL compared with the gap-matched controls. In the liver, compared with both REL-SED and REL-GM rats, REL-EX rats had lower hepatic expression of genes required for cholesterol biosynthesis; greater hepatic expression of genes that mediate very low-density lipoprotein synthesis and secretion; and greater mRNA expression of Cyp27a1, which encodes an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of bile acids. Altogether, these data provide compelling evidence that the liver has an active role in exercise-mediated potentiation of energy expenditure during early relapse.

Femoral lipectomy increases postprandial lipemia in women.

Femoral subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) appears to be cardioprotective compared with abdominal SAT, possibly through better triglyceride (TG) sequestration. We hypothesized that removal of femoral SAT would increase postprandial TG through a reduction in dietary fatty acid (FA) storage. Normal-weight (means ± SD; BMI 23.9 ± 2.6 kg/m(2)) women (n = 29; age 45 ± 6 yr) were randomized to femoral lipectomy (LIPO) or control (CON) and followed for 1 yr. Regional adiposity was measured by DEXA and CT. A liquid meal labeled with [(14)C]oleic acid was used to trace the appearance of dietary FA in plasma (6-h postprandial TG), breath (24-h oxidation), and SAT (24-h [(14)C]TG storage). Fasting LPL activity was measured in abdominal and femoral SAT. DEXA leg fat mass was reduced after LIPO vs. CON (Δ-1.4 ± 0.7 vs. 0.1 ± 0.5 kg, P < 0.001) and remained reduced at 1 yr (-1.1 ± 1.4 vs. -0.2 ± 0.5 kg, P < 0.05), as did CT thigh subcutaneous fat area (-39.6 ± 36.6 vs. 4.7 ± 14.6 cm(2), P < 0.05); DEXA trunk fat mass and CT visceral fat area were unchanged. Postprandial TG increased (5.9 ± 7.7 vs. -0.6 ± 5.3 × 10(3) mg/dl, P < 0.05) and femoral SAT LPL activity decreased (-21.9 ± 22.3 vs. 10.5 ± 26.5 nmol·min(-1)·g(-1), P < 0.05) 1 yr following LIPO vs. CON. There were no group differences in (14)C-labeled TG appearing in abdominal and femoral SAT or elsewhere. In conclusion, femoral fat remained reduced 1 yr following lipectomy and was accompanied by increased postprandial TG and reduced femoral SAT LPL activity. There were no changes in storage of meal-derived FA or visceral fat. Our data support a protective role for femoral adiposity on circulating TG independent of dietary FA storage and visceral adiposity.

Opposing effects of fructokinase C and A isoforms on fructose-induced metabolic syndrome in mice.

Fructose intake from added sugars correlates with the epidemic rise in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Fructose intake also causes features of metabolic syndrome in laboratory animals and humans. The first enzyme in fructose metabolism is fructokinase, which exists as two isoforms, A and C. Here we show that fructose-induced metabolic syndrome is prevented in mice lacking both isoforms but is exacerbated in mice lacking fructokinase A. Fructokinase C is expressed primarily in liver, intestine, and kidney and has high affinity for fructose, resulting in rapid metabolism and marked ATP depletion. In contrast, fructokinase A is widely distributed, has low affinity for fructose, and has less dramatic effects on ATP levels. By reducing the amount of fructose for metabolism in the liver, fructokinase A protects against fructokinase C-mediated metabolic syndrome. These studies provide insights into the mechanisms by which fructose causes obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Intrinsic aerobic capacity impacts susceptibility to acute high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis.

Aerobic capacity/fitness significantly impacts susceptibility for fatty liver and diabetes, but the mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, we utilized rats selectively bred for high (HCR) and low (LCR) intrinsic aerobic capacity to examine the mechanisms by which aerobic capacity impacts metabolic vulnerability for fatty liver following a 3-day high-fat diet (HFD). Indirect calorimetry assessment of energy metabolism combined with radiolabeled dietary food was employed to examine systemic metabolism in combination with ex vivo measurements of hepatic lipid oxidation. The LCR, but not HCR, displayed increased hepatic lipid accumulation in response to the HFD despite both groups increasing energy intake. However, LCR rats had a greater increase in energy intake and demonstrated greater daily weight gain and percent body fat due to HFD compared with HCR. Additionally, total energy expenditure was higher in the larger LCR. However, controlling for the difference in body weight, the LCR has lower resting energy expenditure compared with HCR. Importantly, respiratory quotient was significantly higher during the HFD in the LCR compared with HCR, suggesting reduced whole body lipid utilization in the LCR. This was confirmed by the observed lower whole body dietary fatty acid oxidation in LCR compared with HCR. Furthermore, LCR liver homogenate and isolated mitochondria showed lower complete fatty acid oxidation compared with HCR. We conclude that rats bred for low intrinsic aerobic capacity show greater susceptibility for dietary-induced hepatic steatosis, which is associated with a lower energy expenditure and reduced whole body and hepatic mitochondrial lipid oxidation.

High-fat and high-sucrose (western) diet induces steatohepatitis that is dependent on fructokinase.

UNLABELLED: Fructose intake from added sugars has been implicated as a cause of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Here we tested the hypothesis that fructose may interact with a high-fat diet to induce fatty liver, and to determine if this was dependent on a key enzyme in fructose metabolism, fructokinase. Wild-type or fructokinase knockout mice were fed a low-fat (11%), high-fat (36%), or high-fat (36%) and high-sucrose (30%) diet for 15 weeks. Both wild-type and fructokinase knockout mice developed obesity with mild hepatic steatosis and no evidence of hepatic inflammation on a high-fat diet compared to a low-fat diet. In contrast, wild-type mice fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet developed more severe hepatic steatosis with low-grade inflammation and fibrosis, as noted by increased CD68, tumor necrosis factor alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and collagen I and TIMP1 expression. These changes were prevented in the fructokinase knockout mice. CONCLUSION: An additive effect of high-fat and high-sucrose diet on the development of hepatic steatosis exists. Further, the combination of sucrose with high-fat diet may induce steatohepatitis. The protection in fructokinase knockout mice suggests a key role for fructose (from sucrose) in this development of steatohepatitis. These studies emphasize the important role of fructose in the development of fatty liver and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Reduced hepatic mitochondrial respiration following acute high-fat diet is prevented by PGC-1α overexpression.

Changes in substrate utilization and reduced mitochondrial respiratory capacity following exposure to energy-dense, high-fat diets (HFD) are putatively key components in the development of obesity-related metabolic disease. We examined the effect of a 3-day HFD on isolated liver mitochondrial respiration and whole body energy utilization in obesity-prone (OP) rats. We also examined if hepatic overexpression of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), a master regulator of mitochondrial respiratory capacity and biogenesis, would modify liver and whole body responses to the HFD. Acute, 3-day HFD (45% kcal) in OP rats resulted in increased daily energy intake, energy balance, weight gain, and adiposity, without an increase in liver triglyceride (triacylglycerol) accumulation. HFD-fed OP rats also displayed decreased whole body substrate switching from the dark to the light cycle, which was paired with reductions in hepatic mitochondrial respiration of multiple substrates in multiple respiratory states. Hepatic PGC-1α overexpression was observed to protect whole body substrate switching, as well as maintain mitochondrial respiration, following the acute HFD. Additionally, liver PGC-1α overexpression did not alter whole body dietary fatty acid oxidation but resulted in greater storage of dietary free fatty acids in liver lipid, primarily as triacylglycerol. Together, these data demonstrate that a short-term HFD can result in a decrease in metabolic flexibility and hepatic mitochondrial respiratory capacity in OP rats that is completely prevented by hepatic overexpression of PGC-1α.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell-Derived Adipocytes Modulate Adipose Tissue Cellularity, Leptin Production and Insulin Responsiveness in Female Mice.

A subpopulation of adipocytes in the major adipose depots of mice is produced from hematopoietic stem cells rather than mesenchymal progenitors that are the source of conventional white and brown/beige adipocytes. To analyze the impact of hematopoietic stem cell-derived adipocytes (HSCDAs) in the adipose niche we transplanted HSCs in which expression of a diphtheria toxin gene was under the control of the adipocyte-specific adiponectin gene promoter into irradiated wild type recipients. Thus, only adipocytes produced from HSC would be ablated while conventional white and brown adipocytes produced from mesenchymal progenitor cells would be spared. Wild type mice transplanted with HSCs from mice containing a reporter gene, but not the diphtheria toxin gene, regulated by the adiponectin gene promoter served as controls. In mice in which HSCDA production was suppressed, adipocyte size declined while adipose depot weights were unchanged and the number of conventional adipocyte progenitors significantly increased. We also measured a paradoxical increase in circulating leptin levels while physical activity was significantly decreased in the HSCDA depleted mice. Finally, insulin sensitivity was significantly reduced in HSCDA depleted mice. In contrast, loss of HSCDA production had no effect on body weight, components of energy balance, or levels of several circulating adipokines and tissue-resident inflammatory cells. These data indicate that ablation of this low-abundance subpopulation of adipocytes is associated with changes in circulating leptin levels and leptin-regulated endpoints associated with adipose tissue function. How they do so remains a mystery, but our results highlight the need for additional studies to explore the role of HSCDAs in other physiologic contexts such as obesity, metabolic dysfunction or loss of sex hormone production.

Short-Term Adaptations in Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Oxidative Capacity and Metabolic Pathways to Breaking up Sedentary Behaviors in Overweight or Obese Adults.

Breaking up sedentary behavior with short-frequent bouts of physical activity (PA) differentially influences metabolic health compared with the performance of a single-continuous bout of PA matched for total active time. However, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We compared skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration (high-resolution respirometry) and molecular adaptations (RNA sequencing) following 4-day exposure to breaks vs. energy-matched single-continuous PA bout in inactive adults with overweight/obesity. Participants (9M/10F, 32.2 ± 6.4 years, 30.3 ± 3.0 kg/m2) completed three 4-day interventions of a randomized cross-over study: SED, sedentary control; MICRO, 5 min brisk walking each hour for 9 h; ONE: 45 min/d continuous brisk walking bout. Fasted muscle biopsies were collected on day 5. Mitochondrial coupling in the presence of lipid-associated substrates was higher after ONE (4.8 ± 2.5) compared to MICRO (3.1 ± 1.1, p = 0.02) and SED (2.3 ± 1.0, p = 0.001). Respiratory rates did not differ across groups with carbohydrate-associated substrates. In pathways associated with muscle contraction transcription signaling, ONE and MICRO similarly enhanced Oxidative Phosphorylation and Sirtuin Signaling expression (p < 0.0001, for both). However, ONE (p < 0.001, for all), but not MICRO, had greater pathway enrichment, including Ca++, mTOR, AMPK, and HIF1α signaling, than SED. Although breaking up sedentary behavior triggered skeletal muscle molecular adaptations favoring oxidative capacity, it did not improve mitochondrial function over the short term.

Weight loss and cystic disease progression in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

Progression of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is modified by metabolic defects and obesity. Indeed, reduced food intake slows cyst growth in preclinical rodent studies. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of daily caloric restriction (DCR) and intermittent fasting (IMF) in a cohort of overweight or obese patients with ADPKD. Clinically significant weight loss occurred with both DCR and IMF; however, weight loss was greater and adherence and tolerability were better with DCR. Further, slowed kidney growth correlated with body weight and visceral adiposity loss independent of dietary regimen. Similarly, we compared the therapeutic efficacy of DCR, IMF, and time restricted feeding (TRF) using an orthologous ADPKD mouse model. Only ADPKD animals on DCR lost significant weight and showed slowed cyst growth compared to ad libitum, IMF, or TRF feeding. Collectively, this supports therapeutic feasibility of caloric restriction in ADPKD, with potential efficacy benefits driven by weight loss.

Biology's response to dieting: the impetus for weight regain.

Dieting is the most common approach to losing weight for the majority of obese and overweight individuals. Restricting intake leads to weight loss in the short term, but, by itself, dieting has a relatively poor success rate for long-term weight reduction. Most obese people eventually regain the weight they have worked so hard to lose. Weight regain has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles for obesity therapeutics, undoubtedly perpetuating the epidemic of excess weight that now affects more than 60% of U.S. adults. In this review, we summarize the evidence of biology's role in the problem of weight regain. Biology's impact is first placed in context with other pressures known to affect body weight. Then, the biological adaptations to an energy-restricted, low-fat diet that are known to occur in the overweight and obese are reviewed, and an integrative picture of energy homeostasis after long-term weight reduction and during weight regain is presented. Finally, a novel model is proposed to explain the persistence of the "energy depletion" signal during the dynamic metabolic state of weight regain, when traditional adiposity signals no longer reflect stored energy in the periphery. The preponderance of evidence would suggest that the biological response to weight loss involves comprehensive, persistent, and redundant adaptations in energy homeostasis and that these adaptations underlie the high recidivism rate in obesity therapeutics. To be successful in the long term, our strategies for preventing weight regain may need to be just as comprehensive, persistent, and redundant, as the biological adaptations they are attempting to counter.

Exercise reduces appetite and traffics excess nutrients away from energetically efficient pathways of lipid deposition during the early stages of weight regain.

The impact of regular exercise on energy balance, fuel utilization, and nutrient availability, during weight regain was studied in obese rats, which had lost 17% of their weight by a calorie-restricted, low-fat diet. Weight reduced rats were maintained for 6 wk with and without regular treadmill exercise (1 h/day, 6 days/wk, 15 m/min). In vivo tracers and indirect calorimetry were then used in combination to examine nutrient metabolism during weight maintenance (in energy balance) and during the first day of relapse when allowed to eat ad libitum (relapse). An additional group of relapsing, sedentary rats were provided just enough calories to create the same positive energy imbalance as the relapsing, exercised rats. Exercise attenuated the energy imbalance by 50%, reducing appetite and increasing energy requirements. Expenditure increased beyond the energetic cost of the exercise bout, as exercised rats expended more energy to store the same nutrient excess in sedentary rats with the matched energy imbalance. Compared with sedentary rats with the same energy imbalance, exercised rats exhibited the trafficking of dietary fat toward oxidation and away from storage in adipose tissue, as well as a higher net retention of fuel via de novo lipogenesis in adipose tissue. These metabolic changes in relapse were preceded by an increase in the skeletal muscle expression of genes involved in lipid uptake, mobilization, and oxidation. Our observations reveal a favorable shift in fuel utilization with regular exercise that increases the energetic cost of storing excess nutrients during relapse and alterations in circulating nutrients that may affect appetite. The attenuation of the biological drive to regain weight, involving both central and peripheral aspects of energy homeostasis, may explain, in part, the utility of regular exercise in preventing weight regain after weight loss.

Lipoprotein Lipase Overexpression in Skeletal Muscle Attenuates Weight Regain by Potentiating Energy Expenditure.

Moderate weight loss improves numerous risk factors for cardiometabolic disease; however, long-term weight loss maintenance (WLM) is often thwarted by metabolic adaptations that suppress energy expenditure and facilitate weight regain. Skeletal muscle has a prominent role in energy homeostasis; therefore, we investigated the effect of WLM and weight regain on skeletal muscle in rodents. In skeletal muscle of obesity-prone rats, WLM reduced fat oxidative capacity and downregulated genes involved in fat metabolism. Interestingly, even after weight was regained, genes involved in fat metabolism were also reduced. We then subjected mice with skeletal muscle lipoprotein lipase overexpression (mCK-hLPL), which augments fat metabolism, to WLM and weight regain and found that mCK-hLPL attenuates weight regain by potentiating energy expenditure. Irrespective of genotype, weight regain suppressed dietary fat oxidation and downregulated genes involved in fat metabolism in skeletal muscle. However, mCK-hLPL mice oxidized more fat throughout weight regain and had greater expression of genes involved in fat metabolism and lower expression of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism during WLM and regain. In summary, these results suggest that skeletal muscle fat oxidation is reduced during WLM and regain, and therapies that improve skeletal muscle fat metabolism may attenuate rapid weight regain.

Energy expenditure in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats before and after the introduction of a high-fat diet.

While most rats gain weight when placed on a high-fat diet (HFD), some strains resist HFD-induced weight gain. To maintain weight, obesity-resistant (OR) rats must either eat less than obesity-prone (OP) rats or increase total energy expenditure (TEE). To determine if changes in TEE predispose to or protect from weight gain, energy expenditure, energy intake, and weight gain were measured in male and female OP and OR rats consuming a low-fat diet (LFD) and for 5 days after switching to a HFD. After 5 days on a HFD, OP rats gained significantly more weight (male: 42.8 ± 6.9 g, female: 25.5 ± 3.0 g) than their OR counterparts (male: 24.0 ± 7.5 g, female: 13.7 ± 1.4 g). Both male and female rats significantly increased their energy intake when transitioned to the HFD, and TEE increased modestly in all groups. Compared with female OP rats, female OR rats had a significantly greater increase in TEE on the HFD. This was due to an increase in both resting and nonresting energy expenditure. In contrast, the effect of the HFD in males was minor. TEE was also measured in female rats consuming a HFD, pair fed to LFD calories. The increase in TEE of pair-fed female OR rats was substantially less than what was seen in the HFD ad libitum condition. Physical activity was also measured in female rats. There was no evidence that increases in physical activity were the cause of the increased TEE seen in female OR rats consuming a HFD. These results suggest that resistance to HFD-induced weight gain in female OR rats may be due in part to an increase in TEE and a greater reliance on lipid as an energy source. Changes in TEE appear to be triggered by overconsumption of the HFD and not simply the diet composition.

Effect of the estrous cycle and surgical ovariectomy on energy balance, fuel utilization, and physical activity in lean and obese female rats.

This study presents an in-depth analysis of the effects of obesity on energy balance (EB) and fuel utilization in adult female rats, over the estrous cycle and immediately after surgical ovariectomy (OVX), to model pre- and postmenopausal states, respectively. Female Wistar rats were fed a high-fat (46%) diet for 16 wk to produce mature lean and obese animals. Stage of estrous was identified by daily vaginal lavage, while energy intake (EI), total energy expenditure (TEE), and fuel utilization were monitored in a multichamber indirect calorimeter and activity was monitored by infrared beam breaks. Metabolic monitoring studies were repeated during the 3-wk period of rapid OVX-induced weight gain. Component analysis of TEE was performed to determine the nonresting and resting portions of energy expenditure. Obesity was associated with a greater fluctuation in EB across the estrous cycle. Cycling obese rats were less active, expended more energy per movement, and oxidized more carbohydrate than lean rats. The changes in EB over the cycle in lean and obese rats were driven by changes in EI. Finally, OVX induced a large positive energy imbalance in obese and lean rats. This resulted primarily from an increase in EI in both groups, with little change in TEE following OVX. These observations reveal a dominant effect of obesity on EB, fuel utilization, and activity levels in cycling rats, which has implications for studies focused on obesity and EB in female rodents.

Regular exercise attenuates the metabolic drive to regain weight after long-term weight loss.

Weight loss is accompanied by several metabolic adaptations that work together to promote rapid, efficient regain. We employed a rodent model of regain to examine the effects of a regular bout of treadmill exercise on these adaptations. Obesity was induced in obesity-prone rats with 16 wk of high-fat feeding and limited physical activity. Obese rats were then weight reduced (approximately 14% of body wt) with a calorie-restricted, low-fat diet and maintained at that reduced weight for 8 wk by providing limited provisions of the diet with (EX) or without (SED) a daily bout of treadmill exercise (15 m/min, 30 min/day, 6 days/wk). Weight regain, energy balance, fuel utilization, adipocyte cellularity, and humoral signals of adiposity were monitored during eight subsequent weeks of ad libitum feeding while the rats maintained their respective regimens of physical activity. Regular exercise decreased the rate of regain early in relapse and lowered the defended body weight. During weight maintenance, regular exercise reduced the biological drive to eat so that it came closer to matching the suppressed level of energy expenditure. The diurnal extremes in fuel preference observed in weight-reduced rats were blunted, since exercise promoted the oxidation of fat during periods of feeding (dark cycle) and promoted the oxidation of carbohydrate (CHO) later in the day during periods of deprivation (light cycle) . At the end of relapse, exercise reestablished the homeostatic steady state between intake and expenditure to defend a lower body weight. Compared with SED rats, relapsed EX rats exhibited a reduced turnover of energy, a lower 24-h oxidation of CHO, fewer adipocytes in abdominal fat pads, and peripheral signals that overestimated their adiposity. These observations indicate that regimented exercise altered several metabolic adaptations to weight reduction in a manner that would coordinately attenuate the propensity to regain lost weight.

Impact of Exercise and Activity on Weight Regain and Musculoskeletal Health Post-Ovariectomy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether obesity and/or exercise training alters weight regain and musculoskeletal health after ovariectomy (OVX). Female rats were fed high-fat diet (HFD) to reveal obesity-prone (OP) and obesity-resistant (OR) phenotypes. The OP and OR exercising (EX) and sedentary (SED) rats were calorically restricted to lose 15% of body weight using medium-fat diet. Rats were then maintained in energy balance for 8 wk before OVX. After OVX and a brief calorically limited phase, rats were allowed to eat ad libitum until body weight plateaued. Starting at weight loss, EX ran 1 h·d, 6 d·wk, 15 m·min. Energy intake, spontaneous physical activity (SPA), and total energy expenditure were evaluated at the end of weight maintenance pre-OVX, and at three time points post-OVX: before weight regain, during early regain, and after regain. Data are presented as mean ± SE. Exercise attenuated weight regain after OVX in OP only (OP-EX, 123 ± 10 g; OP-SED, 165 ± 12 g; OR-EX, 121 ± 6 g; OR-SED, 116 ± 6 g), which was primarily an attenuation of fat gain. The early post-OVX increase in energy intake explained much of the weight regain, and was similar across groups. Exercising improved bone strength, as did maintaining SPA. Group differences in muscle mitochondrial respiration were not significant. The large decrease in SPA due to OVX was persistent, but early weight regain was dependent on decreased SPA. In conclusion, leanness and exercise do not necessarily protect from OVX-induced weight gain. Exercise prevented weight gain in obese rats, but loss of SPA was the greatest contributor to post-OVX weight gain. Thus, understanding the mechanisms resulting in reduction in SPA after ovarian hormone loss is critical in the prevention of menopause-associated metabolic dysfunction.

Maternal obesity during lactation may protect offspring from high fat diet-induced metabolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The current obesity epidemic has spurred exploration of the developmental origin of adult heath and disease. A mother's dietary choices and health can affect both the early wellbeing and lifelong disease-risk of the offspring. SUBJECTS/METHODS: To determine if changes in the mother's diet and adiposity have long-term effects on the baby's metabolism, independently from a prenatal insult, we utilized a mouse model of diet-induced-obesity and cross-fostering. All pups were born to lean dams fed a low fat diet but were fostered onto lean or obese dams fed a high fat diet. This study design allowed us to discern the effects of a poor diet from those of mother's adiposity and metabolism. The weaned offspring were placed on a high fat diet to test their metabolic function. RESULTS: In this feeding challenge, all male (but not female) offspring developed metabolic dysfunction. We saw increased weight gain in the pups nursed on an obesity-resistant dam fed a high fat diet, and increased pathogenesis including liver steatosis and adipose tissue inflammation, when compared to pups nursed on either obesity-prone dams on a high fat diet or lean dams on a low fat diet. CONCLUSION: Exposure to maternal over-nutrition, through the milk, is sufficient to shape offspring health outcomes in a sex- and organ-specific manner, and milk from a mother who is obesity-prone may partially protect the offspring from the insult of a poor diet.