Caloric restriction induces anabolic resistance to resistance exercise
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: Weight loss can result in the loss of muscle mass and bone mineral density. Resistance exercise is commonly prescribed to attenuate these effects. However, the anabolic endocrine response to resistance exercise during caloric restriction has not been characterized. Methods: Participants underwent 3-day conditions of caloric restriction (15 kcal kg FFM −1 ) with post-exercise carbohydrate (CRC) and with post-exercise protein (CRP), and an energy balance control (40 kcal kg FFM −1 ) with post-exercise carbohydrate (CON). Serial blood draws were taken following five sets of five repetitions of the barbell back squat exercise on day 3 of each condition. Results: In CRC and CRP, respectively, growth hormone peaked at 2.6 ± 0.4 and 2.5 ± 0.9 times the peak concentrations observed during CON. Despite this, insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations declined 18.3 ± 3.4% in CRC and 27.2 ± 3.8% in CRP, which was greater than the 7.6 ± 3.6% decline in CON, over the subsequent 24 h. Sclerostin increased over the first 2 days of each intervention by 19.2 ± 5.6% in CRC, 21.8 ± 6.2% in CRP and 13.4 ± 5.9% in CON, but following the resistance exercise bout, these increases were attenuated and no longer significant. Conclusion: During caloric restriction, there is considerable endocrine anabolic resistance to a single bout of resistance exercise which persists in the presence of post-exercise whey protein supplementation. Alternative strategies to restore the sensitivity of insulin-like growth factor-1 to growth hormone need to be explored.
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During weight loss, research shows that a caloric restriction diet and the associated energy deficit may impair the muscle protein synthesis response to resistance exercise, limiting hypertrophic adaptations and the resources required to build new muscle tissue.
“There is also, during weight loss, research showing that a caloric restriction diet and the associated energy deficit may impair the muscle protein synthesis response to resistance exercise, limiting hypertrophic adaptations and the resources required to build new muscle tissue [7, 54, 55].”
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Areta, J. L., Taylor, H. L., & Koehler, K. (2021) · European Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1007/s00421-020-04516-0 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
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“There is also, during weight loss, research showing that a caloric restriction diet and the associated energy deficit may impair the muscle protein synthesis response to resistance exercise, limiting hypertrophic adaptations and the resources required to build new muscle tissue [7, 54, 55].”
- Authors
- Murphy, C., & Koehler, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Corresponding author
- Koehler, Karsten
- Venue
- European Journal of Applied Physiology
- Published
- 2020-03-31
- Volume
- 120
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1155-1164
- ISSN
- 0020-9376 (ISSN-L)
- 1439-6319
- 1439-6327
- PMC
- PMC8233264
- OpenAlex
- W3014229647
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 2.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2021-06-28)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- European Journal of Applied Physiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften (ZB MED) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- mediaTUM (Technical University of Munich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NEB-36-083)
- University of Nebraska Foundation (Layman Award)
- Projekt DEAL
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Growth Hormone and Insulin-like Growth Factors
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Keywords
- caloric restriction, resistance training, anabolic resistance, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I, sclerostin, back squat, muscle mass, bone mineral density, weight loss
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Energy Intake, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Male, Single-Blind Method, Bone Remodeling, Cross-Over Studies, Dietary Supplements, Caloric Restriction, Resistance Training, Young Adult
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