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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
A Chronic High-Intensity Interval Training and Diet-Induced Obesity Model to Maximize Exercise Effort and Induce Physiologic Changes in Rats
Published on: April 28, 2023
The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Visceral White Adipose Lipolytic Pathways in Female Rats
Mitchell J Sammut1, Benjamin R Thorne1, Laiba Saeed1
1School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, CANADA.
Background:
Visceral white adipose tissue (vWAT) accumulation is a key contributor to cardiometabolic disease, particularly in females, yet the impact of resistance exercise training (RET) on vWAT metabolism remains poorly characterized.
Objective:
This study investigated the effects of 10 wk of RET on visceral adiposity, glycemic regulation, and vWAT lipolytic pathway activation in female rats.
Methods:
Female Sprague-Dawley rats ( n = 20) were randomized to sedentary (SED; n = 10) or RET ( n = 10) groups. RET animals performed weighted ladder climbing 5 d·wk -1 for 10 wk. Weekly body mass and food intake over the final week were recorded. Fasting blood glucose measurements and intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed 3-4 d following the final exercise bout. Visceral adipose (gonadal white adipose tissue [gWAT] depot) and skeletal muscles were collected 5 d following the final exercise bout and weighed. gWAT samples were used for western blotting of proteins involved in lipolysis and lipid metabolism.
Results:
RET significantly increased biceps and flexor digitorum longus relative muscle mass and reduced gWAT mass ( P < 0.05), without significantly altering body mass. Fasting blood glucose was reduced ( P < 0.05) in RET compared to SED animals and strongly correlated with gWAT mass ( R = 0.71, P < 0.001), while intravenous glucose tolerance test area under the curve was unchanged. RET animals demonstrated enhanced phosphorylation of adipose triglyceride lipase and protein kinase A substrates ( P < 0.05) in gWAT.
Conclusions:
RET enhances basal lipolytic pathway activation in vWAT and improves fasting glycemia independent of body mass. These findings support RET as a weight-neutral strategy to reduce vWAT and improve cardiometabolic health in females.
