TOPLINE: 

In adults with obesity who achieve ≥ 5% weight loss on a low-calorie diet, a 1-year exercise program produces a greater increase in late-phase postprandial GLP-1 response compared with usual activity, a change that may help curb appetite and prevent weight regain.

METHODOLOGY:

• GLP-1 receptor agonists sustain weight loss by suppressing appetite, but this effect depends on sustained activation and high concentrations of GLP-1 receptor. Nonpharmacologic strategies to elevate endogenous GLP-1 are therefore of interest.
• In an exploratory analysis, 195 adults with obesity (mean age, 42 years; 36% men; mean BMI, 32.6) who completed an 8-week, 800 kcal/d low-calorie diet and lost ≥ 5% body weight were studied to assess long-term effects of exercise on postprandial GLP-1 response.
• Participants were randomized for 52 weeks of either usual activity, exercise, liraglutide 3 mg/d, or exercise plus liraglutide. Exercise involved supervised group and individual sessions with heart-rate monitoring.
• Three-hour liquid mixed-meal tolerance tests after an overnight fast were conducted pre-diet, post-diet, and after 52 weeks. Total GLP-1 levels were measured using radioimmunoassay.
• The primary outcome was change in late-phase postprandial GLP-1 response (area under the curve from 90 to 180 minutes), comparing the exercise and usual activity groups.

TAKEAWAY:

• Weight loss related to diet alone did not change late-phase postprandial GLP-1 response (estimated change, 3%).
• At 1 year, however, exercise increased late-phase postprandial GLP-1 response by 25% more than usual activity (P = .02).
• Liraglutide did not change the late-phase postprandial GLP-1 response vs usual activity.
• Increases in post-meal GLP-1 response over the year were associated with improved blood glucose metabolism but not with hunger or insulin response.

IN PRACTICE:

"Satiation by exercise-induced increased GLP-1 levels after meal intake may contribute to the success of exercise as a weight management strategy after weight loss," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Joachim Holt, a research assistant within the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online in Obesity.

LIMITATIONS: 

The generalizability of these results to adults older than 65 years is unclear.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Cardiovascular Academy, and Helsefonden. Some authors reported serving on advisory boards and receiving lecture fees, support for attending meetings and/or travel, or research grants from various pharmaceutical companies.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.