Overview
- Shute et al. reported on Oct. 30 in the Journal of Sport and Health Science that resistance-style exercise outperformed voluntary running in a diet-induced obese mouse model.
- The eight-week experiment compared wheel running with a novel weightlifting setup in which mice lifted a weighted, hinged lid to access food, enabling progressive resistance training.
- Both exercise modes reduced subcutaneous and visceral fat and improved blood glucose regulation, with greater gains from resistance training in glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
- Muscle analyses indicated improved insulin signaling pathways after resistance training, and the benefits were not explained by changes in muscle mass or exercise performance.
- The findings, led by Zhen Yan at Virginia Tech with University of Virginia collaborators, highlight exercise as a complement to drugs like GLP-1 agonists and require human validation.