Abstract:
Exercise is an effective weight loss method in obese people. An increase in fat oxidation during recovery after the exercise session is interesting to study. A previous research study reported that environmental temperature affected fat oxidation during recovery after single bout of exercise in obese women. However, there was no research study investigating the recovery fat oxidation in obese women who participated in the exercise training program. Sixteen obese women (age; 18-50 y, BMI 27.5-40 kg/m2) with regular menstruation participated in this study. All subjects stabilized their diet for one month and then underwent a one-month moderate-intensity exercise program on a treadmill. After that, the subjects underwent 2 identical exercise tests and recovered in 2 different environments for 60 minutes each; in hot (31-32°C; HT) and cool (22-23°C; CT) temperatures on separate occasions. Each exercise test was performed on a treadmill at 60%HRR for 60 minutes. All tests were conducted during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The results showed that recovery fat oxidation in cool temperature was significantly greater than in hot temperature (CT; 56.0 ± 24.6 mg.kg-1.h-1 vs. HT; 39.7 ± 27.5 mg.kg-1.h-1, p < 0.001). The recovery carbohydrate oxidation in hot temperature was significantly greater than in cool temperature (HT; 104.0 ± 46.9 mg.kg-1.h-1 vs. CT; 64.6 ± 40.5 mg.kg-1.h-1, p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between total energy expenditure in hot and cool temperatures (HT; 70.5 ± 19.6 kcal.h-1 vs. CT; 71.3 ± 13.7 kcal.h-1, p = 0.846). It is summarized that the recovery fat oxidation of trained obese women was greater in the cool temperature. Thus, obese people should be encouraged to recover in cool temperature after the moderate-intensity exercise training as it is likely the better choice to spend more energy on fat oxidation after exercise completion.