The Effects of Six Weeks of Fasted Aerobic Exercise on Body Shape and Blood Biochemical Index in Overweight and Obese Young Adult Males

Xiaolong Liu; Mengxiao He; Xiaoli Gan; Yang Yang; Qin Hou; Rongbo Hu

doi:10.1016/j.jesf.2022.11.003

The Effects of Six Weeks of Fasted Aerobic Exercise on Body Shape and Blood Biochemical Index in Overweight and Obese Young Adult Males

J Exerc Sci Fit. 2023 Jan;21(1):95-103. doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2022.11.003. Epub 2022 Nov 11.

Authors

Xiaolong Liu^{1

2}, Mengxiao He^{3

4}, Xiaoli Gan⁵, Yang Yang⁶, Qin Hou⁷, Rongbo Hu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Sports Medicine Laboratory, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541006, Guangxi, China.
² Rehabilitation Institute, Guilin Life and Health Career Technical College, Guilin, 541100, Guangxi, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Human Sports Science, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, 830054, Xinjiang, China.
⁴ Department of Physical Education and Health, Guilin College, Guilin, 541006, Guangxi, China.
⁵ College of Foreign Studies, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541006, Guangxi, China.
⁶ Department of Sports Science, Shanghai Institute of Physical Education, Shanghai, 200438, China.
⁷ Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
⁸ Chair of Building Realization and Robotics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, 80333, Germany.

Abstract

Background/objective: The effects of fasted aerobic exercise on body composition and whether it causes adverse effects remain controversial. This study was to compare the effects of fasted and non-fasted aerobic exercise on body shape and blood biochemical indexes in overweight and obese young adult males, and observe whether FAE triggers adverse reactions.

Methods: Thirty overweight and obese young adult males were randomly divided into fasted aerobic exercise (FAE) group, non-fasted aerobic exercise (NFAE) group, and control group. They were subjected to indoor treadmill intervention five days a week combined with diet control for six weeks. The FAE group had breakfast 0.5 h after exercise, and the NFAE group exercised 1 h after breakfast. Both groups filled out adverse reaction questionnaires during exercise, and the control group did not have any intervention. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage of the three groups of subjects before and after the experiment were measured by the GAIA KIKO bio-resistance antibody composition analyzer in Korea; waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were measured by the tape measure method; fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin (FINs), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), and HDL-C/LDL-C were measured by Roche C8000 automatic biochemical analysis instrument.

Results: Weight, BMI, body fat percentage, WC, HC, WHR, WHtR, TG, TC, LDL-C and VLDL decreased very significantly (P < 0.01) in the FAE and NFAE groups after the 6-week experiment. The decrease in FINS was significant in the FAE group (P < 0.05) and the decrease in HDL-C was very significant in the NFAE group (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the frequency of adverse reactions between two groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Six-week FAE and NFAE significantly improved body shape in overweight and obese young adult males, while FAE significantly reduced fasting insulin levels and increased tissue cell sensitivity to insulin. And compared to NFAE, 30 min of FAE in the morning did not increase adverse effects.

Keywords: Adverse effects; Blood biochemical index; Body shape index; Fasting aerobic exercise; Obesity.