Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
Seven days of strength training changed fat tissue in obese mice
Researchers in Brazil studied obese mice to see what strength training does to fat tissue before weight loss begins.
The mice climbed a small staircase carrying weights for seven sessions over one week.
Compared with inactive mice, they had less fat around their intestines and smaller fat cells.
Their fat tissue also showed changes linked to greater fat breakdown and less fat production.
The findings suggest strength training may improve some aspects of metabolic health even when body weight has not changed.
The study involved mice, so it does not show whether people would have the same results.
Researchers plan to study longer-term effects in mice and work toward human trials.
A week of strength training altered visceral fat tissue in obese mice before they lost weight.
Compared with sedentary obese mice, trained mice had less fat around their intestines and smaller fat cells.
The researchers also found changes in signals linked to fat storage and breakdown.
The study used mice climbing a weighted staircase for seven training sessions.
The researchers said the findings need to be replicated in human trials.
- Who
- Researchers from the University of Campinas in Brazil studied obese mice.
- What
- A week of strength training was associated with less visceral fat, smaller fat cells and changes in fat-related signals, without weight loss.
- When
- The experiment lasted seven days.
- Where
- The study examined visceral fat around the mice’s organs.
- Why
- The researchers aimed to identify strength training’s effects on fat tissue before weight loss could influence the results.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
People tend to think that if they've been strength training for two months and haven't lost weight, it hasn't done any good
But what we saw in this study is that after just seven days of strength training – even when there was still no weight loss – the molecular pathways that promote fat accumulation were less active, while those that stimulate fat breakdown were more active.
Therefore, combining the two remains the best recommendation and the best strategy for those who want to lose weight.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Study duration
- Seven days
- Study team
- University of Campinas, Brazil
- Exercise regimen
- Seven sessions of weighted staircase climbs
- Staircase height
- 70 centimeters (27.6 inches)
- Training session
- 20 climbs with 60–90-second rest periods
- Training intensity
- 70 percent of the rodents’ maximum capacity
Sources
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