Exercise training is often recommended in prevention and treatment of
obesity. The present study was designed to compare the effects of intermittent and continuous exercise on
weight loss and carcass composition in obese rats. Obese male Wistar rats (
monosodium glutamate [
MSG] administration, 4 mg/g of
body weight every other day from birth to 14 days old) were used. After
drug administration, the rats were separated into three groups:
MSG-SED (sedentary),
MSG-CONT (continuous, swimming, 45 min/day, 5 days/week, with and overload of 5%
body weight for 12 weeks) and
MSG-INT (intermittent, 15 s swimming intermitted by 15 s rest, during 45 min, 5 days/week, with and overload of 15%
body weight for 12 weeks). Rats of the same age and strain, administered with saline were used as control (SAL), and subdivided into three groups: SAL-SED, SAL-CONT and SAL-INT. The animals were evaluated at the 10 weeks of training and 8 weeks of its interruption.
MSG rats showed higher carcass fat as well as weight and cell size in epididymal adipose tissue than SAL rats, indicting the efficacy of the
drug in producing
obesity. Intermittent training protocol led to a reduction in blood
lactate accumulation during acute exercise and both protocols reduced
body weight gain during the experiment in
MSG rats. After 8 weeks of training interruption no differences were observed among groups in the examined parameters. Only intermittent exercise training improved aerobic fitness but both protocols were similarly efficient in determining
weight loss. However, the effects were transitory, since they disappeared after detraining.