Moderate exercise at energy balance does not affect 24-h leucine oxidation or nitrogen retention in healthy men

Antoine E El-Khoury, Anders Forslund, Roger Olsson, Stefan Branth, Anders Mikael Sjödin, Agneta Andersson, Alan Atkinson, Ambalini Selvaraj, Leif Hambraeus, Vernon R Young

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Short-term metabolic experiments have revealed that physical exercise increases the oxidation of leucine, which has been interpreted to indicate an increased requirement for dietary protein in physically active subjects. Because it may be inaccurate to extrapolate measurements of amino acid oxidation made over a few hours to the entire day, we have carried out a continuous 24-h intraveneus [1-13C]leucine/[15N]urea tracer study in eight healthy adult men. Their diet supplied 1 g protein ·kg-1·day-1, and exercise (mean maximal O2 consumption 46%) was for 90 min during the 12- h fast and 12-h fed periods of the day. Subjects were adapted to the diet and exercise regimen for 6 days. Then, on day 7, they were dressed in the University of Uppsala energy metabolic unit's direct calorimeter suit, were connected to an open-hood indirect calorimeter, and received the tracers. Exercise increased leucine oxidation by ~50 and 30% over preexercise rates for fast and fed periods, respectively. This increase amounted to ~4-7% of daily leucine oxidation. Subjects remained in body leucine equilibrium (balance -4.6 ± 10.5 mg·kg-1· day-1; -3.6 ± 8.3% of intake; P = not significant from zero balance). Therefore, moderate exercise did not cause a significant deterioration in leucine homeostasis at a protein intake of 1 g·kg-1·day-1. These findings underscore the importance of carrying out precise, continuous, 24-h measurements of whole body leucine kinetics; this model should be of value in studies concerning the quantitative interactions among physical exercise, energy/protein metabolism, and diet in humans.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAmerican Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism
Volume273
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)E394-E407
Number of pages14
ISSN0193-1849
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Calorimetry
  • Fasting and feeding
  • Urea kinetics

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