CONTRASTING EFFECTS OF RESISTANCE AND AEROBIC TRAINING ON BODY-COMPOSITION AND METABOLISM AFTER DIET-INDUCED WEIGHT-LOSS

This study examined whether exercise training facilitates maintenance of body weight at reduced levels following weight loss by attenuating weight loss-induced reductions in resting metabolism and fat oxidation . The effects of 12 weeks (three times per week) of either aerobic or weight training exercise on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism during rest and following a meal in 18 older (mean +/- SE, 61 +/- 1 years; range, 56 to 70) subjects who had recently lost a mean of 9 +/- 1 kg were studied. During the exercise training period, the aerobic training group (five women, four men) had a significant (P < . 05) reduction in body weight (-2.5 +/- 0.6 kg) as compared with the we ight training group (five women, four men) (0.4 +/- 0.9 kg). Eight of nine aerobic training subjects lost additional weight, while six of ni ne weight training subjects gained weight. Neither type of training re versed the depressions in resting metabolism or fat oxidation rates ti e, resting or postprandial) that had occurred as a consequence of the prior weight loss. Thus, alterations in resting metabolism or fat oxid ation (resting or postprandial) do not appear to be the mechanism(s) b y which exercise training facilitates maintenance of diet-induced weig ht loss. (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company