Browsing by Subject "kehonkoostumus"

Many athletes, goal-oriented exercisers, and normal-weight adults are interested in pursuing weight loss and a more aesthetic appearance. However, research on the association between body composition changes and cardiometabolic health is relatively scarce in metabolically healthy adults, whose body mass index is below 30. Thus, the current study observed, how the serum cardiometabolic profile of fitness competitors changes in response to an intensive weight loss period prior to competitions, and whether these changes persist during competition week and a post-competition recovery period. In addition, the association between android fat mass and serum cardiometabolic profile was investigated. The study was part of University of Jyväskylä and National Institute for Health and Welfare’s study that followed the competition preparation of 23 fitness athletes (13 men, 10 women) prior to the Finnish National Championships and their subsequent recovery from the pre-competition weight loss. The results of the competitor group were compared to a control group (10 men, 12 women) that strived to maintain their baseline body composition, energy intake, and exercise levels throughout the study period. Participants’ serum cardiometabolic profile (250 serum metabolites), body composition, energy intake, and energy expenditure of weekly exercise were measured in four time points: six months pre-competition (PRE), one week pre-competition (MID), one day post-competition (COMP), and six months post-competition (POST). Changes in the serum cardiometabolic profile and their associations with android fat mass, energy intake, and exercise levels were analyzed with Generalized Estimation Equations models. During the weight loss period (PRE-MID), the competitors’ body weight decreased by 8,0 ± 3,5 kg (false discovery rate, FDR = 0,02) and 12,0 ± 3,4 kg (FDR < 0,001), and total fat mass decreased by 10,7 ± 2,1 kg and 9,7 ± 1,5 kg (FDR < 0,001) in women and men, respectively. The competitors’ serum HDL-cholesterol, HDL-phospholipid and apoA-1 concentrations, and HDL particle size and number increased (FDR < 0,01), while serum total and VLDL-triglyceride concentrations, VLDL particle size, and concentrations of glucose and glycoprotein acetyls decreased (FDR < 0,001). Decreased android fat mass (~-79%, FDR < 0,001) explained the majority of the metabolic changes during the weight loss period. Increased energy intake during the competition week (women: ~18%, FDR = 0,19; men: ~41%, FDR < 0,001) was associated with increases in serum HDL- and VLDL-triglyceride concentrations (FDR < 0,05). In the end of the recovery period (POST), the competitors’ body composition and most (n = 64) of the serum metabolite concentrations had reverted back to baseline levels (FDR > 0,05), except for lipids in large VLDL particles and a few (n = 7) HDL-related metabolites (FDR < 0,05). The current results suggest that weight loss and loss of android fat mass are associated with anti-atherogenic changes in fitness competitors’ HDL and VLDL particle composition and in concentrations of serum glucose and inflammation markers. Increased energy intake after weight loss may lead to acute increases in HDL- and VLDL-triglyceride concentrations, but weight-loss-related changes in the serum cardiometabolic profile are not substantially dissipated until body weight and fat mass are regained. Further longitudinal research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm potential causal relationships.