The Effect Of Adipose Tissue Distribution On Aerobic Capacity In Male Overweight Subjects

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that the predominantly abdominal fat distribution compared withperipheral fat mass decrease the lipids oxidation rates during exercise in normal weight and obese woman. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a low vs high ratio of android to gynoid body fat mass on: 1) cardiorespiratory functional capacity (CFC) and 2) ventilatory thresholds in overweight male subjects (OMS). METHODS: Forty two recreationallyactive men (between 2 - 6 h/week of physical activiy) with a mean age of 34.0 + 6.3 wereallocated in two groups: lower android to gynoid L(A/G) ratio (n=19; A/G ratio= 0.85+ 0.14);and the other group with higher H(A/G) ratio (n=23; A/G ratio=1.16+ 0.13). The maximal cardiorespiratory exercise test (Cortex, Metalyzer IIIB, Lipizieg, Germany) was performed on a treadmill using a ramp protocol with workoload (1 km/h) increment every 1 minute in order to determine maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), and respiratory compensation point (RCP). A dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used (GEMedical Systems Lunar, Madison, USA) to measure body composition: total mass, fat mass and skeletal muscle index. Android and gynoid fat were measured, and the ratio between them was calculated (A/G ratio). RESULTS: Regarding body composition the L-A/G showed lower values than H- A/G group for android to gynoid ratio (0.85 + 0.14 vs. 1.16 + 0.13, respectively, p=0.01).In addition, the L-A/G group showed lower values to fat mass index (6.6 + 2.8 vs. 8.5 + 2.4 Kg/m2respectively, p=0.04). No differences (p>0.05) were observed between L-A/G than H-A/G to skeletal muscle index (20.2 + 2.5 vs.18.9 + 1.3 Kg/m2, respectively) and body mass index (27.6+ 2.3 vs. 28.6 + 1.4 Kg/m2 respectively, p=0.13). Regarding CFC, the L-A/G showed greater values to VO2 max (44.4 + 5.4 vs. 37.9 + 5.8 ml/kg/min, respectively, p=0.001). In addition, the L-A/G presented greater values to VO2 at VAT (27.7 + 5.3 vs. 23.5 + 6.1 ml/kg/min, p=0.03) and RCP (40.0 + 7.7 vs. 33.5 + 6.5 ml/kg/min, p=0.01) compared to H-A/G. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that body fat distribution with predominantly android fat mass reduces aerobic capacity in OMS. Furthermore, these results suggest that OMS with lower A/G ratio show greater skeletal muscle oxidative capacity during exercise.