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Short-term moderate exercise provides long-lasting protective effects against metabolic dysfunction in rats fed a high-fat diet

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Abstract

Introduction

A sedentary lifestyle and high-fat feeding are risk factors for cardiometabolic disorders. This study determined whether moderate exercise training prevents the cardiometabolic changes induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).

Materials and methods

Sixty-day-old rats were subjected to moderate exercise three times a week for 30 days. After that, trained rats received a HFD (EXE-HFD) or a commercial normal diet (EXE-NFD) for 30 more days. Sedentary animals also received the diets (SED-HFD and SED-NFD). Food intake and body weight were measured weekly. After 120 days of life, analyses were performed. Data were analysed with two-way ANOVA and the Tukey post-test.

Results

Body weight gain induced by HFD was attenuated in trained animals. HFD reduced food intake by approximately 30 % and increased body fat stores by approximately 75 %. Exercise attenuated 80 % of the increase in fat pads and increased 24 % of soleus muscle mass in NFD animals. HFD induced a hyper-response to glucose injection, and exercise attenuated this response by 50 %. Blood pressure was increased by HFD, and the beneficial effect of exercise in reducing blood pressure was inhibited by HFD. HFD increased vagal activity by 65 % in SED-HFD compared with SED-NFD rats, and exercise blocked this increase. HFD reduced sympathetic activity and inhibited the beneficial effect of exercise on ameliorating sympathetic activity.

Conclusion

Four weeks of moderate exercise at low frequency was able to prevent the metabolic changes induced by a HFD but not the deleterious effects of diet on the cardiovascular system.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grants from the Brazilian Research National Foundation: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) by receipt of the scholarship from Ciências em Fronteiras Program (Process No. 10040/13-7) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPQ.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology - Block H67, Room 19, Department of Biotechnology, Genetics and Cell Biology, State University of Maringá, Colombo Avenue 5970, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil

    Laize Peron Tófolo, Tatiane Aparecida da Silva Ribeiro, Ananda Malta, Rosiane Aparecida Miranda, Rodrigo Mello Gomes, Júlio Cezar de Oliveira, Douglas Lopes de Almeida, Amanda Bianchi Trombini, Claudinéia Conationi da Silva Franco, Audrei Pavanello, Wilson Rinaldi, Luiz Felipe Barella, Paulo Cezar de Freitas Mathias & Kesia Palma-Rigo

  2. UPSP-EGEAL Institut Polytechnique LaSalle de Beauvais, 6000, Beauvais, France

    Latifa Abdennebi-Najar & Gabriel Sergio Fabricio

  3. CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, DF, 70040-020, Brazil

    Gabriel Sergio Fabricio

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  1. Laize Peron Tófolo
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  2. Tatiane Aparecida da Silva Ribeiro
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Correspondence to Paulo Cezar de Freitas Mathias.

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Tófolo, L.P., da Silva Ribeiro, T.A., Malta, A. et al. Short-term moderate exercise provides long-lasting protective effects against metabolic dysfunction in rats fed a high-fat diet. Eur J Nutr 54, 1353–1362 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-014-0816-7

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