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Daily exercise keeps fat away
Putting off a daily regimen of exercise can have a much larger effect on human health than previously thought, according to two University of Missouri-Columbia researchers who found that a 24-hour period of inactivity can lead to a large increase in the amount of fat and the size of fat cells in the body. The study was electronically published on March 17 in The Journal of the Physiology.
"We eat regularly and we need to exercise regularly," said David Kump, a doctoral student in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. "Exercise, or regular daily activity, inhibits the ability of our body to store excess amounts of fat. There is a 'magic bullet' for keeping weight down and it's daily physical activity."
In the study, Kump and Frank Booth, professor of biomedical sciences, allowed rats to run on exercise wheels for three weeks and then locked the wheels for a period of up to two days. Following the change in activity, Kump and Booth measured the rats' fat pads around the stomach. Fat pads are areas of their body where fat is stored. The researchers found a dramatic increase in the weight of the pads and the size of the fat cells following two days of no exercise. On average, fat cells expanded by 19 percent, and the fat around the stomach increased in weight by 25 percent. Booth believes this increased fat production may be due to nature's survival need to store excess energy until there is more food.
"Left on its own in nature, our body wants to store as much energy as possible because it doesn't know when the next meal will come," Booth said. If we don't burn that energy through regular activity, the body stares that energy as fat. Since our body doesn't know that it can't get food 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, when there is any amount of excess food, the body makes it a priority to store that extra energy as fat until it needs to use the energy. We know that increasing fat is bad for our health because it is associated with so many other health problems, but this study demonstrates how severe the problem can be and how fast it can grow."
The researchers found that a regular amount of exercise suppressed the formation of fat immediately following the exercise. Booth and Kump used rats in their study because their bodily functions are similar to humans. In a recent similar study, Booth and Kump found that an interruption in physical activity can lead to an increase in insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes and other related diseases. The American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health funded the study.
What do you guys think about this study?
Putting off a daily regimen of exercise can have a much larger effect on human health than previously thought, according to two University of Missouri-Columbia researchers who found that a 24-hour period of inactivity can lead to a large increase in the amount of fat and the size of fat cells in the body. The study was electronically published on March 17 in The Journal of the Physiology.
"We eat regularly and we need to exercise regularly," said David Kump, a doctoral student in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. "Exercise, or regular daily activity, inhibits the ability of our body to store excess amounts of fat. There is a 'magic bullet' for keeping weight down and it's daily physical activity."
In the study, Kump and Frank Booth, professor of biomedical sciences, allowed rats to run on exercise wheels for three weeks and then locked the wheels for a period of up to two days. Following the change in activity, Kump and Booth measured the rats' fat pads around the stomach. Fat pads are areas of their body where fat is stored. The researchers found a dramatic increase in the weight of the pads and the size of the fat cells following two days of no exercise. On average, fat cells expanded by 19 percent, and the fat around the stomach increased in weight by 25 percent. Booth believes this increased fat production may be due to nature's survival need to store excess energy until there is more food.
"Left on its own in nature, our body wants to store as much energy as possible because it doesn't know when the next meal will come," Booth said. If we don't burn that energy through regular activity, the body stares that energy as fat. Since our body doesn't know that it can't get food 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, when there is any amount of excess food, the body makes it a priority to store that extra energy as fat until it needs to use the energy. We know that increasing fat is bad for our health because it is associated with so many other health problems, but this study demonstrates how severe the problem can be and how fast it can grow."
The researchers found that a regular amount of exercise suppressed the formation of fat immediately following the exercise. Booth and Kump used rats in their study because their bodily functions are similar to humans. In a recent similar study, Booth and Kump found that an interruption in physical activity can lead to an increase in insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes and other related diseases. The American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health funded the study.
What do you guys think about this study?
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