Exercise Training and its Effects on Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue
Grant
Overview
abstract
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98% of Americans do not achieve sufficient levels of physical activity representing an opportunistic treatment for the escalating obesity and diabetes epidemics currently affecting one third of the US population. Exercise is a component of physical activity that can combat metabolic disease despite little to no weight loss; however, exercise has favorable effects on body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, and other components of metabolic disease. Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is a dynamic organ that plays a vital role in regulating whole body metabolism; SAT functions to store excess calories in the form of triglycerides after meals and to release free fatty acids (FFA) as energy for other tissues during periods of fasting or physical activity. In the obese state these functions may become dysregulated resulting in elevated circulating FFA, ectopic fat storage, and a concomitant reduction in insulin sensitivity. Adipocytes require functional mitochondria to perform the energy-dependent processes of lipogenesis and lipolysis. Although exercise training adaptations have been thoroughly examined in skeletal muscle and the cardiovascular system, very few investigations have been undertaken to delineate the effects on SAT in humans leaving significant gaps in knowledge. In addition, no investigations to date have examined exercise training adaptations in different SAT depots. The objective of this proposal is to identify changes to SAT in response to 3 months of aerobic interval training in overweight and obese participants.
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