Effects of different intensity of exercise on tissue injury and gene expression in obese rats

Weight loss is an important aspect of chronic disease prevention and management, with increasing rates of overweight and obesity worldwide. Drugs and surgery are popular approaches to lose weight. Given their potential harm to the body, exercise is an alternative widely accepted approach. However, participation in high intensity exercise entails an inherent risk of sports-related injuries. In this study, a rat model fed with high fat diet was employed to investigate the effects of different intensity of exercise prescription on both weight loss and tissue injury after exercise and to find a proper exercise prescription for losing weight with minimal tissues injuries. We inferred that 3% weight bearing might be the proper exercise prescription for high fat diet-fed rats in our experimental setting.