Regulation of Energy Balance during Long-Term Physical Inactivity Induced by Bed Rest with and without Exercise Training

摘要

Background: Short-term physical inactivity affects energy balance and is considered conducive to weigh gain. Long-term effects are unknown.Objective: The objective of the study was to use a bed-rest model to determine the long-term effects of physical inactivity on energy balance regulation and test the effect of exercise training on energy balance adjustment to physical inactivity.Design: Sixteen lean women were divided into two groups (n = 8 each): a control group subjected to a strict 60-d bed rest and an exercise group subjected to a combined aerobic/resistive exercise training concomitantly to bed rest. Body composition, spontaneous energy intake, hunger, total energy expenditure (TEE), and fasting gut hormones were measured.Results: Based on bed-rest-induced body composition changes, the control group were in slight negative energy balance (?0.4 ± 0.4 MJ/d; P = 0.01 vs. zero), essentially due to muscle atrophy ( P < 0.001 vs. zero). The stable fat mass ( P = 0.19 vs. zero), and the matching between spontaneous energy intake and TEE indicated, however, a stable energy balance. Hunger and gut hormones remained unchanged during the bed rest. In the exercise group, TEE was 24% higher than in the control group ( P = 0.004). Unexpectedly, desire to consume food ( P = 0.025) decreased and spontaneous energy intake ( P = NS) was not stimulated, promoting a negative energy balance (?1.1 ± 0.5 MJ/d, P = 0.0003 vs. zero).Conclusions: Energy balance is regulated during 2 months of physical inactivity, contrasting with short-term experiments. Conversely, exercise-induced energy expenditure in bed-resting subjects who have no spontaneous physical activity did not induce hunger and promoted a negative energy balance, suggesting a potential role of nonexercise physical activities in energy balance regulation.