Abstract
Increasing fat burning during physical activity is thought to be an effective strategy for maintaining health and preventing lifestyle-related diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. In recent years, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) have gained attention as a dietary component for increasing fat-burning. However, this fat-burning effect has been unclear in people with high body mass index (BMI). Therefore, we aimed to clarify the effects of 2 g of daily ingestion of MCTs over 2 weeks on substrate oxidation during low-intensity physical activity in sedentary (i.e., with no exercise habit) subjects with a BMI from 25 (kg/m2) to less than 30, which is classified as obese in Japan. A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, crossover study with a 2-week washout period was conducted. The rate of fat oxidation as well as the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during exercise (with a cycle ergometer at a 20-watt load) were measured with a human calorimeter. MCTs ingestion significantly increased fat oxidation during physical activity and decreased RER compared to long-chain triglycerides ingestion. In conclusion, we suggest that daily ingestion of 2 g of MCTs for 2 weeks increases fat burning during daily physical activities in sedentary persons with a BMI ranging from 25 to less than 30.
Highlights
Despite obesity being known to be a possible cause of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and dyslipidemia, the number of obese Japanese people continues to increase due to changes in dietary habits and decreased physical activity resulting from changes in the living environment [1]
We consider that the results of this study indicate that the anti-obesity effect of the ingestion of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) equivalent to 2 g is due to the enhancement of fat burning in daily activities during continuous ingestion, in addition to the effect of increased diet-induced thermogenesis after Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) ingestion
A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, crossover study was conducted to evaluate the effects of daily ingestion of 2 g MCTs for 2 weeks on fat catabolism during low-intensity physical activity in sedentary individuals and with a body mass index (BMI) from 25 to less than 30
Summary
Despite obesity being known to be a possible cause of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and dyslipidemia, the number of obese Japanese people continues to increase due to changes in dietary habits and decreased physical activity resulting from changes in the living environment [1]. Since obesity is caused by an imbalance between energy expenditure and energy ingestion, preventing obesity by increasing physical activity and improving dietary habits (to ensure proper energy balance) are essential. Catechins and capsaicin reportedly increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation at rest as well as during exercise [3,4,5,6], and reduce body fat [7,8]. Continuous ingestion of MCTs has been reported to promote fat utilization during moderate-intensity exercise in recreational athletes [10] and during low-intensity daily activities in normalweight subjects [11,12], and has been shown to reduce body weight and body fat [13,14]
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