Resistance training prevents liver fat accumulation in ovariectomized rats

Corriveau, Patrick; Paquette, Amélie; Brochu, Martin; Prud’homme, Denis; Rabasa-Lhoret, Remi; Lavoie, Jean-Marc

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2008.02.005

« Previous Next »Maturitas
Volume 59, Issue 3 , Pages 259-267, 20 March 2008

Resistance training prevents liver fat accumulation in ovariectomized rats

Patrick Corriveau
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montreal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7
Amélie Paquette
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montreal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7
Martin Brochu
- Faculty of Physical Education, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
Denis Prud’homme
- School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Remi Rabasa-Lhoret
- Department of Nutrition, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Jean-Marc Lavoie
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succ. centre-ville, Montreal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 514 343 7044; fax: +1 514 343 2181.

Received 23 October 2007; received in revised form 23 January 2008; accepted 10 February 2008. published online 26 March 2008.

Abstract

Background

Menopause is associated with increased lipid deposition in the liver and fat accumulation in the abdomen.

Objective

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of adding a resistance training program (RT) to a restrictive diet (RD) on liver lipid accumulation and abdominal fat depots in ovariectomized (Ovx) rats.

Methods

One group of sham-operated and three groups of Ovx rats were compared. Five weeks after surgery, Ovx rats were either submitted to an ∼25% RD with or without RT for 3 or 8 weeks, while a third group of Ovx rats were fed ad libitum and remained sedentary. The RT program consisted of climbing a 6m vertical metal grill five times a week with an increasing load up to 75% of body weight attached to the tail. The number of repetitions increased from two to four sets of 10 repetitions.

Results

Ovariectomy resulted in significantly higher (P<0.01) body weight, energy intake, intra-abdominal fat depots, plasma leptin levels (P<0.05), and liver triacylglycerol concentrations. All of these responses were (P<0.01) reduced in Ovx rats following the RD with the exception of liver lipid infiltration. The addition of RT to the RD treatment synergistically reduced abdominal fat deposition and plasma-free fatty acid levels. Moreover, liver lipid infiltration was completely prevented by the addition of the RT program. Muscle mass relative to body weight was significantly increased in Ovx-RD-RT compared to all other groups.

Conclusion

It is concluded that RT is an asset to minimize the deleterious effects of ovarian hormone withdrawal on liver lipid accumulation and abdominal fat accumulation in Ovx rats.

Keywords: Restrictive diet, Hepatic steatosis, Plasma FFA, Leptin, Muscle mass, Estrogens