Effect of very low calorie diet on body composition and exercise response in sedentary women

Summary The effect of very low calorie diet (VLCD) on fat-free mass (FFM) and physiological response to exercise is a topic of current interest. Ten moderately obese women (aged 23–57 years) received VLCD (1695 kJ·day^–1) for 6 weeks. FFM, estimated by four conventional techniques, and heart rate (f _c), blood lactate (la_b), mean arterial pressure (MAP), respiratory exchange ratio (R) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured during a submaximal cycle ergometry test 1 week bevore, in the 2nd and 6th week, and 1 week after VLCD treatment. Strength and muscular endurance of the quadriceps and hamstrings were tested by isokinetic dynamometry. The 11.5-kg reduction in body mass was approximately 63% fat and 37% FFM. The latter was attributed largely to the loss of water associated with glycogen. Whilst exercise f _c increased by 9–14 beats·min^–1 (P<0.01), there were substantial decreases (P<0.01) in submaximal MAP (1.07–1.73 kPa), lab (0.75–1.00 mmol·1^–1 and R (0.07–0.09) during VLCD. R and f _c returned to normal levels after VLCD. Gross strength decreased (P<0.01) by 9 and 13% at 1.05 rad·s^–1 and 3.14 rad·s^s–1, respectively. Strength expressed relative to body mass (Nm·kg^–1) increased (P<0.01) at the lower contraction velocity, but there was no change at the faster velocity. Muscular endurance also decreased (P<0.01) by 62 and 82% for the hamstrings and quadriceps, respectively: We concluded that the strength decrease was a natural adaptation to the reduction in body mass as the ratio of strength to FFM was maintained. Despite the physiological alterations, subjects could tolerate short-term, steady-state exercise during VLCD, with only slight increases in RPE. However, greater fatigue is associated with long duration strength training exercises during VLCD.