Abstract
BackgroundThe present pilot study was designed to test the impact of passive acute normobaric hypoxic exposure (PAH) and passive short-term normobaric hypoxic exposure (PSH) conditions on energy expenditure (EE) and substrates utilisation (glucose and lipid oxidation).MethodsEleven participants have completed the PAH session while the control group (CG) underwent a simulated experimental condition in normobaric normoxic condition. A subset of 6 participants underwent an additional six 3-hour sessions on consecutive days. Metabolic rates were obtained pre- and post-treatments on the morning following an overnight (12 hours) fast in PAH, PSH, and CG groups.ResultsThe statistical outcomes showed a significant increase in EE for PAH, control, and PSH while a shift in substrate utilization towards lipid sources was only detected for PAH and PSH, respectively.ConclusionThis pilot study showed that passive acute normobaric hypoxic exposure did affect EE and fuel utilization in sedentary overweight males and that further passive normobaric hypoxic exposures (PSH) magnified these metabolic adjustments. These outcomes provide valuable information for further research in the area of hypoxia as a new therapeutic strategy to improve the management of weight loss.
Highlights
The present pilot study was designed to test the impact of passive acute normobaric hypoxic exposure (PAH) and passive short-term normobaric hypoxic exposure (PSH) conditions on energy expenditure (EE) and substrates utilisation
Hypoxia has been associated with an augmented metabolic rate and an increase in energy expenditure [6], a general metabolic perturbation that might affect fuel utilization [7]
Environmental parameters Room temperature was maintained between 22 and 24°C throughout the experiment, while atmospheric conditions averaged between 99.5±0.6 kPa and 86.0±10.7 Rh%
Summary
The present pilot study was designed to test the impact of passive acute normobaric hypoxic exposure (PAH) and passive short-term normobaric hypoxic exposure (PSH) conditions on energy expenditure (EE) and substrates utilisation (glucose and lipid oxidation). Obesity impairs physical performance and leads to an unfitness status that negatively affects whole body metabolism and daily energy expenditure [2]. Even though many scientific reports confirm the beneficial effects of regular physical activity on reduced mortality from all causes, including obesity, a mix of personal (e.g., past experience with exercise, health status), behavioural (e.g., skills), and environmental (e.g., access to facilities, type of program) factors influence both uptake and maintenance of exercise. New perspectives have emerged from studies on human hypoxic tolerance showing that some effects might be potentially beneficial in specific physiologic or pathologic conditions and could be an effective means to reduce body fat [4]. According to the most recent studies on the topic, moderately obese subjects did significantly lose weight after intermittent hypoxic exposures [5]. Previous studies have reported that the majority of weight loss in lean fit subjects was attributed to fat mass reduction, possibly due to increased fat oxidation [8,9,10]
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