Maximal Rate of Fat Oxidation Clinical Trial
Official title:
Dietary Correlates of the Maximal Capacity for Fat Oxidation During Exercise in Males and Females.
There is a large variability in people's ability to burn fat during exercise. It is thought that differences in dietary intake can partly explain this variation, however this has not been comprehensively studied. This will be investigated by measuring participant's habitual diet and rates of fat oxidation during exercise, and look for associations between the two.
The capacity to oxidize (burn) fat as fuel for exercise may have important implications for
health and performance. For example, increased fat oxidation could help to induce a negative
fat balance and over time improve body composition. Furthermore, increasing the oxidation of
fat could spare carbohydrate utilization during exercise which should improve endurance
performance by preserving the bodies limited carbohydrate reserves for the latter stages of
competition. Interestingly, there is substantial individual variation in the balance of
fuels used for energy during exercise and in particular the maximal capacity to oxidize fat
(MFO). Whilst habitual diet is known to affect the metabolic response to exercise, the
influence of nutrition on the individual variability observed in maximal fat oxidation has
not been comprehensively studied.
Therefore, the proposed investigation aims to build on current understanding of how various
nutritional factors influence MFO during exercise. Based on previous small intervention
studies, it is suspected that energy balance and macronutrient content or distribution may
exert the strongest influence on MFO during exercise. Specifically, the main hypothesis
would be that negative energy balance; higher fat intake and/or low carbohydrate intake
would be the strongest positive influencer's of MFO. Nonetheless, the determination of an
array of habitual and acute nutrient intake data in a relatively large cohort of healthy
individuals will enable an insight into the influence of a comprehensive array of nutrients
on MFO during exercise. With a greater understanding of the nutritional factors that
influence MFO during exercise, new nutritional interventions can be designed to promote the
oxidation of fat for improved health and performance.
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Observational Model: Case-Only, Time Perspective: Cross-Sectional