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1 Department of Medicine, and 2
Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
3 Division of Food Science, Human Nutrition and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Address correspondence to Susan B. Racette, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8502, 4444 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108-2212. E mail: racettes{at}wustl.edu
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Methods. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted with 48 healthy, nonobese women and men, aged 57 ± 1 (mean ± standard error [SE]) years, with body mass index 27.3 ± 0.3 kg/m2. Participants were randomly assigned to a 20% calorically-restricted diet (CR, n = 19), exercise designed to produce a similar energy deficit (EX, n = 19), or a healthy lifestyle control group (HL, n = 10) for 1 year. Assessments included weight, body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, abdominal adipose tissue by magnetic resonance imaging, and energy intake by doubly labeled water.
Results. The average level of CR achieved by the CR group was 11.5 ± 2.1%, and the EX group completed 59 ± 6.7% of their prescribed exercise. Weight changes were greater (p
.0005) in the CR (8.0 ± 0.9 kg) and EX (6.4 ± 0.9) groups as compared to the HL group (1.3 ± 0.9 kg), corresponding to reductions of 10.7%, 8.4%, and 1.7% of baseline weights, respectively. Whole-body fat mass and visceral and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue decreased significantly (p <.005) and comparably in the CR and EX groups, but did not change in the HL group.
Conclusions. CR for 1 year was feasible, but the level of CR achieved was less than prescribed. CR and exercise were equally effective in reducing weight and adiposity.
| METHODS |
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Study Design
After a series of screening visits, participants were randomly assigned to the CR, exercise (EX), or healthy lifestyle (HL, control) group in a 2:2:1 sequence. Forty-eight adults (30 women, 18 men) began the intervention, and their data are included in these analyses (Figure 1).
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EX Intervention
The goal of the exercise intervention was to induce an energy deficit comparable to the CR intervention by increasing daily energy expenditure through exercise without changing caloric intake. To enable adaptation to exercise, the EX prescription began at
16% and then increased to 20%. Exercise physiologists and trainers worked with EX participants individually to establish and monitor their exercise routines, which could be performed in our exercise facility (containing treadmills, a track, cycle ergometers, rowing ergometers, elliptical machines, and stairclimbers), a health club, participants' homes, or outdoors. All EX participants were instructed to attend weekly weigh-in sessions throughout the intervention. Because this was not a training study, exercise intensity was not prescribed, and the number of weekly exercise sessions was individualized.
Healthy Lifestyle
The HL group received general information about a healthy diet and was offered free yoga classes, but did not receive a diet or exercise prescription, and had minimal contact with our research team. This group served as a control.
Anthropometry and Body Composition
Body weight was measured in duplicate after an overnight fast, with the participant wearing a hospital gown. Baseline body weight was calculated as the mean of five weekly weights measured during the 4-week baseline period. Weights at months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 represent the mean of three weekly weights obtained at the beginning, middle, and end of each 2-week assessment period. Height was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm. BMI was calculated as weight/height2 (kg/m2). Whole-body fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and %FM were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (software version 11.2, Delphi W; Hologic Corporation, Waltham, MA); reported values represent the mean of 23 DXA scans at baseline and 2 DXA scans at the follow-up time points.
Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue volumes were quantified using proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and after 1 year. Ten serial 10 mm axial images were acquired using a 1.5-T superconducting magnet (Siemens, Iselin, NJ), beginning at L1 (identified by the origin of the psoas muscle) and moving downward. Baseline and 1-year images were batch-analyzed using Hippo software (8). Slice-level fat volumes were summed for total volumes of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Total Energy Expenditure
Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured during 2-week periods using the doubly labeled water (DLW) method (9). Two baseline urine samples were collected, after which an oral dose of DLW was administered (0.20 g of H218O, 0.12 g of 2H2O per kg of total body water). Postdose urine samples were collected at 4.5 hours, 6 hours, 7 days (two samples), and 14 days (two samples), and were analyzed in duplicate for 18O and 2H abundance by isotope ratio mass spectrometry in the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center (10).
Energy Intake
Energy intake was assessed by DLW and food diaries. Using DLW, energy intake at baseline was assumed to equal TEE, because participants were weight stable. For each 3-month interval, energy intake was calculated as the average TEE (e.g., average of 3- and 6-month TEE for the 36 month interval) with adjustment for changes in FM and FFM during that interval. The energy values of FM and FFM were assumed to be 9.3 and 1.1 kcal/g, respectively. The %CR was calculated as the percent reduction in energy intake from baseline.
Seven-day food diaries were used to estimate self-reported intake. Participants received detailed instructions on how to weigh, measure, and record all food and beverages consumed. Research dietitians reviewed the diaries with participants and then analyzed them using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R) (software versions 4.05, 4.06, and 5.0; Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis).
Exercise Adherence
Adherence to the EX intervention was estimated using heart rate (HR) monitors (S610; Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland), which EX participants were instructed to wear during each exercise session and bring in for downloading during weekly meetings with the exercise trainers. The HR monitors store minute-by-minute HR values and exercise duration, and calculate energy expenditure for each session using participant-specific values for maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), maximum HR (HRmax), weight, height, age, and sex. Participants also were asked to report any exercise sessions that were not recorded on their HR monitors.
Physical Activity
A modified version of the Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire (PAR) (11,12) was used among all participants to quantify the amount of time spent sleeping and engaged in light, moderate, hard, and very hard physical activities, which corresponded to increasing metabolic equivalents (METs). Physical activity data are presented as MET-h/d above rest, where rest is assumed to equal 24 MET-h/d.
VO2max
VO2max was determined by indirect calorimetry during an incremental exercise test to exhaustion (13). Participants walked on a level treadmill at a pace that elicited 60%70% of age-predicted maximal heart rate for a 5-minute warm-up. The speed was then set at the fastest comfortable pace, and the grade was increased 1%2% every 12 minutes until volitional exhaustion, electrocardiographic changes, or other abnormalities that rendered it unsafe to continue.
Statistical Analyses
Intention-to-treat analyses were performed using SAS software, version 9.1.3 of the SAS System for Linux (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC), with inclusion of all participants who provided follow-up data at any time point. Longitudinal changes between and within groups were tested with mixed model repeated-measures analyses of variance; when interactions between group and time point were significant, contrasts assessing the equality of changes from baseline to 6 months and baseline to 1 year were examined. For outcomes assessed at two time points only (MRI and VO2), analysis of covariance and paired t tests were used. All body composition outcomes were adjusted for gender and age. Statistical tests were two-tailed, with significance accepted at p
.05. Data are presented as the least square mean (for repeated measures) or mean (for measures collected at a single time point) ± standard error.
| RESULTS |
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As shown in Table 4, results from the PAR questionnaire indicate that physical activity increased only in the EX group. Likewise, absolute VO2max increased only in the EX group, which contrasts the reduction observed in the CR group, providing additional evidence that weight loss was achieved by CR in the CR participants and by exercise in the EX participants.
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| DISCUSSION |
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Consistent with our observation that, compared to CR, exercise did not significantly enhance the mobilization of visceral adipose tissue stores, Ross and colleagues reported comparable reductions in visceral adipose tissue in response to 3 months of diet- or exercise-induced weight loss among men (14) and premenopausal women (15) with abdominal obesity. In contrast to our results, however, they found that exercisers lost more total FM than did dieters (14,15), and that female exercisers lost more abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue than did female dieters (15). This discrepancy with our results may be explained by differences in study design, including the older age and lower BMI of our participants, or the longer duration of our intervention.
A potential adverse consequence of CR in the present and previous (14) studies is a reduction in FFM, which was accompanied in the present study by a small decrement in absolute VO2max (i.e., L/min). The clinical importance of these changes is unclear. As expected (16,17), exercise helped to preserve lean mass during weight loss and promoted increases in VO2max in the present study.
One of the most dramatic effects of life-prolonging CR in rodents is prevention of the large increase in body fat that normally occurs with advancing age in sedentary animals fed ad libitum. It has been hypothesized that maintenance of leanness is importantly involved in the mechanism by which CR slows aging (18). In support of this hypothesis, Blüher and colleagues (19) reported that adipocyte-specific insulin receptor knockout mice have lower FM and increased maximal life span despite normal food intake. As shown in the present study, exercise without CR can be as effective as CR alone in reducing body fat stores, and people who regularly engage in endurance exercise generally stay lean (20). However, although regular exercise helps protect against secondary aging (i.e., physiological declines and disease processes attributable to modifiable lifestyle factors), there is no evidence that exercise slows primary aging (i.e., physiological declines attributable to the aging process itself).
Research on rats, in which aging over the life span can be studied under controlled conditions, has shown clearly that maintenance of leanness by means of exercise does not slow primary aging (i.e., does not increase maximal life span). In these studies (2123), male rats given access to running wheels were compared to sedentary animals in which food intake was restricted 30% to match their body weights to those of the runners. As in many previous studies, the CR rats had increases in average and maximal longevity. In contrast, the runners had a 10% increase in average longevity but no increase in maximal longevity (2123), despite the observation that exercise prevents body fat accumulation and insulin resistance with advancing age more effectively than CR does (24,25). Therefore, although CR and exercise have many similar benefits, CR has a unique ability to slow primary aging in short-lived organisms. A comparison of long-term CR and exercise in humans may reveal the adaptive response unique to CR that could be involved in slowing primary aging.
A limitation of the present study is that adherence to the prescribed CR and EX regimens was less than 100%. It is difficult for adults in our society to follow a CR diet long-term, as evidenced by the high prevalence of overweight and obese individuals (26). Despite relatively high adherence to the CR diet for the first 6 months, participants in the present study were unable to maintain 20% CR during the final 6 months. Furthermore, the large volume of exercise needed to achieve a 20% increase in daily energy expenditure required approximately 90 minutes every day. Nevertheless, our results provide strong evidence that the CR group did follow a calorically-restricted diet throughout the intervention, and that the EX group lost weight through exercise and not by dieting. Importantly, our CR participants were responsible for purchasing and preparing their own meals, and we did not provide financial incentives for adherence or study completion. Another limitation is that a few HL participants lost a significant amount of weight by 6 months, which may be attributable to the fact that individuals who enrolled in this study were ready to make lifestyle changes, and were able to do so with minimal intervention from the research team. The low rate of study attrition (4%) is encouraging as we prepare to initiate phase 2 of the CALERIE trial.
Summary
Our results support the feasibility of long-term, albeit modest, CR, and provide evidence for beneficial changes in whole-body adiposity and abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue that are comparable to exercise-induced alterations.
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We are grateful to the study participants for their cooperation, and to the staff of the Applied Physiology Laboratory and nurses of the General Clinical Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine for their skilled assistance.
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Received January 12, 2006
Accepted March 20, 2006
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