<p>Fitness enthusiasts, take note! Exercising on an empty stomach may help burn more body fat and fuel your metabolism, boosting your health in the long run, a new study has found.<br /><br />Researchers from University of Bath in the UK studied a group of overweight males.<br /><br />The volunteers walked for 60 minutes at 60 per cent maximum oxygen consumption on an empty stomach, and on another occasion for two hours after consuming a high-calorie carbohydrate-rich breakfast.<br /><br />The team took multiple blood samples after eating or fasting and after exercising. They also collected adipose tissue samples immediately before and one hour after walking.<br /><br />Gene expression in the adipose tissue differed significantly in the two trials, researchers said.<br /><br />They found that the expression of two genes, PDK4 and HSL, increased when the men fasted and exercised, and decreased when they ate before exercising.<br /><br />The rise in PDK4 likely indicates that stored fat was used to fuel metabolism during exercise instead of carbohydrates from the recent meal, researchers said.<br /><br />HSL typically increases when adipose tissue uses stored energy to support increased activity, such as during exercise, said Dylan Thompson of University of Bath.<br /><br />These results reinforce the view that "adipose tissue often faces competing challenges," Thompson said.<br /><br />After eating, adipose tissue is busy responding to the meal and a bout of exercise at this time will not stimulate the same beneficial changes in adipose tissue, he said.<br /><br />This means that exercise in an empty stomach might provoke more favourable changes in adipose tissue, and this could be beneficial for health in the long term, he added.<br /><br />The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Fitness enthusiasts, take note! Exercising on an empty stomach may help burn more body fat and fuel your metabolism, boosting your health in the long run, a new study has found.<br /><br />Researchers from University of Bath in the UK studied a group of overweight males.<br /><br />The volunteers walked for 60 minutes at 60 per cent maximum oxygen consumption on an empty stomach, and on another occasion for two hours after consuming a high-calorie carbohydrate-rich breakfast.<br /><br />The team took multiple blood samples after eating or fasting and after exercising. They also collected adipose tissue samples immediately before and one hour after walking.<br /><br />Gene expression in the adipose tissue differed significantly in the two trials, researchers said.<br /><br />They found that the expression of two genes, PDK4 and HSL, increased when the men fasted and exercised, and decreased when they ate before exercising.<br /><br />The rise in PDK4 likely indicates that stored fat was used to fuel metabolism during exercise instead of carbohydrates from the recent meal, researchers said.<br /><br />HSL typically increases when adipose tissue uses stored energy to support increased activity, such as during exercise, said Dylan Thompson of University of Bath.<br /><br />These results reinforce the view that "adipose tissue often faces competing challenges," Thompson said.<br /><br />After eating, adipose tissue is busy responding to the meal and a bout of exercise at this time will not stimulate the same beneficial changes in adipose tissue, he said.<br /><br />This means that exercise in an empty stomach might provoke more favourable changes in adipose tissue, and this could be beneficial for health in the long term, he added.<br /><br />The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. <br /><br /></p>