The Effects of Fasting or Ketogenic Diet on Endurance Exercise Performance and Metabolism in Female Mice
Heart and Muscle Metabolism Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Physiology, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA 19426, USA
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Academic Editor: Vassilis Mougios
Metabolites 2021, 11(6), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11060397
Received: 25 May 2021
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Revised: 12 June 2021
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Accepted: 15 June 2021
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Published: 18 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Exercise on Energy Metabolism)
The promotion of ketone body (KB) metabolism via ketosis has been suggested as a strategy to increase exercise performance. However, studies in humans and animals have yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of ketosis, achieved via fasting or a short-term ketogenic diet (KD), on endurance exercise performance in female mice. After 8 h of fasting, serum KB significantly increased and serum glucose significantly decreased in fasted compared to fed mice. When subjected to an endurance exercise capacity (EEC) test on a motorized treadmill, both fed and fasted mice showed similar EEC performance. A 5-week KD (90% calories from fat) significantly increased serum KB but did not increase EEC times compared to chow-fed mice. KD mice gained significantly more weight than chow-fed mice and had greater adipose tissue mass. Biochemical tissue analysis showed that KD led to significant increases in triglyceride content in the heart and liver and significant decreases in glycogen content in the muscle and liver. Furthermore, KD downregulated genes involved in glucose and KB oxidation and upregulated genes involved in lipid metabolism in the heart. These findings suggest that a short-term KD is not an effective strategy to enhance exercise performance and may lead to increased adiposity, abnormal endogenous tissue storage, and cardiometabolic remodeling.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Holcomb, L.E.; O’Neill, C.C.; DeWitt, E.A.; Kolwicz, S.C., Jr. The Effects of Fasting or Ketogenic Diet on Endurance Exercise Performance and Metabolism in Female Mice. Metabolites 2021, 11, 397. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11060397
AMA Style
Holcomb LE, O’Neill CC, DeWitt EA, Kolwicz SC Jr. The Effects of Fasting or Ketogenic Diet on Endurance Exercise Performance and Metabolism in Female Mice. Metabolites. 2021; 11(6):397. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11060397
Chicago/Turabian StyleHolcomb, Lola E., Caitlin C. O’Neill, Elizabeth A. DeWitt, and Stephen C. Kolwicz Jr. 2021. "The Effects of Fasting or Ketogenic Diet on Endurance Exercise Performance and Metabolism in Female Mice" Metabolites 11, no. 6: 397. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11060397
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