Effects of active commuting and leisure-time exercise on fat loss in women and men with overweight and obesity: a randomized controlled trial

J S Quist, M Rosenkilde, M B Petersen, A S Gram, A Sjödin, B Stallknecht

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background:Aerobic exercise is recommended for weight management but energy balance is often less negative than predicted from exercise energy expenditure (ExEE).Objective:To examine effects of active commuting and leisure-time exercise on fat loss in women and men with overweight and obesity.Methods:We randomized 130 younger, physically inactive women and men with overweight and obesity (body mass index: 25-35 kg m ' 2) to 6 months of habitual lifestyle (control; CON, n=18), active commuting (BIKE, n=35) or leisure-time exercise of moderate (MOD, 50% VO 2 peak reserve, n=39) or vigorous intensity (VIG, 70% VO 2 peak reserve, n=38). The primary outcome was change in fat mass measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, which was analyzed intention-to-treat. Accumulated energy balance was calculated based on changes in body composition, and ExEE was calculated based on heart rate monitoring during exercise.Results:Testing at 3 and 6 months was completed by 95 and 90 participants, respectively. Fat mass was reduced after 3 and 6 months in BIKE (3 months: '3.6 ('5.5; '1.7) kg (mean (95% CI)); 6 months: '4.2 ('6.6; '1.9) kg; both: P<0.001), MOD (3 months: '2.2 ('3.9; '0.4) kg; 6 months: '2.6 ('4.8; '0.5) kg, both: P<0.02) and VIG (3 months: '3.4 ('5.2; '1.7) kg; 6 months: '4.5 ('6.6; '2.3) kg; both: P<0.001) compared with CON. Furthermore, fat loss was greater in VIG compared with MOD (6 months: '1.8 ('3.6; '0.1) kg, P=0.043). Based on the ExEE and the accumulated energy balance MOD compensated for the ExEE (77 (48; 106) %) but not BIKE (38 ('18; 95) %) and VIG (21 ('14; 55) %).Conclusions:A meaningful fat loss was obtained by 6 months of active commuting and leisure-time exercise, but fat loss was greater with vigorous compared with moderate intensity exercise. Active commuting is an alternative to leisure-time exercise in the management of overweight and obesity. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01962259 (main trial) and NCT01973686 (energy metabolism sub-study).

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Obesity
Volume42
Pages (from-to)469-478
Number of pages10
ISSN0307-0565
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2018

Keywords

  • Journal Article

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