Browsing by Subject "Meal timing"

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Metabolic chamber studies on energy- and macronutrient metabolism : impact of meal skipping and energy flux
(2018) Nas, Alessa; Bosy-Westphal, Anja
The classical concept of body weight regulation attributes the development of obesity to a chronically positive energy balance. There is, however, evidence indicating that beyond this basic concept, the effectiveness of body weight regulation is affected by the circadian regulation of metabolism and the level of energy flux (EF, level of energy balance). Meal skipping affects circadian regulation and might therefore also affect the regulation of body weight. In addition, an asymmetric regulation of body weight is hypothesized with improved effectiveness when EF is high (active lifestyle) and less effectiveness at a low EF (sedentary lifestyle). Metabolic chambers offer the opportunity to acquire short-term parameters of energy and macronutrient balance that precede long-term weight gain and therefore, can help to understand the impact of nutrition and physical activity interventions on body weight regulation. This thesis presents the implementation of a metabolic chamber system (Chapter II) and investigates the acute impact of meal skipping (Chapter III) and energy flux (Chapter IV) on energy and macronutrient metabolism by performing two well-controlled, cross-over intervention studies using metabolic chambers. The implementation of the metabolic chambers revealed, that thorough considerations must be made in terms of the metabolic chamber environment (room ventilation and position of analyzer unit), the additional devices (e.g. air conditioner) used as well as the study protocol, in order to obtain good data quality. The study on meal skipping includes 17 healthy participants who underwent 3 isocaloric 24-h interventions (55%, 30%, and 15% carbohydrate, fat and protein, respectively): a breakfast skipping day (BSD) and a dinner skipping day (DSD) separated by a conventional 3-meal-structure day (control). Energy and macronutrient balance were measured and postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations, as well as 24-h glycemia and 24-h insulin secretion (C-peptide), were analyzed. When compared with the 3-meal control, 24-h energy expenditure was higher on DSD (DSD: +69 kcal/d; p < 0.05), but not on BSD. Whereas, fat oxidation increased on the BSD only (+13 g/d; p < 0.01). Spontaneous physical activity, 24-h glycemia, and 24-h insulin secretion did not differ between intervention days. The postprandial homeostasis model assessment index (+54%) and glucose concentrations after lunch (+46%) were, however, higher on the BSD than on the DSD (both p < 0.05). When compared with 3 meals/d, dinner skipping increased energy expenditure. In contrast, higher postprandial insulin concentrations and increased fat oxidation with breakfast skipping show the development of metabolic inflexibility in response to prolonged fasting that may in the long-term lead to impaired glucose homeostasis. The study on energy flux includes 16 healthy participants who underwent three 24-h interventions with different levels of EF: (i) low EF, physical activity level (PAL) = 1.3 – 1.4 (ii) medium EF, PAL = 1.5 – 1.6 and (iii) high EF, PAL = 1.7 – 1.8 each at energy balance (EB), caloric restriction (CR), and overfeeding (OF) (100%, 75% and 125% of individual energy requirement with 50% carbohydrate, 35% fat, 15% protein). Different levels of EF were accomplished by walking (4 km/h) on a treadmill (0, 165 and 330 min). Sleeping energy expenditure (SEE), 24-h macronutrient oxidation and relative macronutrient balance (oxidation relative to intake) were determined. During EB and OF, 24-h fat oxidation increased with higher EF. This resulted in a higher relative fat balance at medium EF (EB: +17%, OF: +14%) and high EF (EB: +23%, OF: +17%) compared to low EF (all p < 0.05). SEE during EB and OF was higher at medium (EB: +5 kcal/3h and OF: +12 kcal/3h) and high (EB: +7 kcal/3h and OF: +18 kcal/3h) EF compared to low EF (all, p < 0.05). In contrast, during CR 24-h fat oxidation was only higher at high EF compared to low EF and neither relative fat balance nor SEE differed between the EF levels. A higher EF might have beneficial effects on body weight regulation during short-term overfeeding and energy balance because it increased SEE and improved relative fat balance. However, during short-term caloric restriction, a higher EF had no impact on the regulation of energy or fat balance. Therefore, a high EF especially can attenuate the adverse effects of short-term overfeeding. Altogether, this thesis emphasizes the importance of physical activity in daily life and suggests that the adverse metabolic outcome of breakfast skipping (caused by a positive energy balance after lunch with a preceding prolonged fasting period) might be attenuated by a high EF.