Background
Dietary fasting strategies have become increasingly popular in recent years to improve metabolic health, augment weight loss, and enhance body composition [
1‐
3]. One common fasting strategy utilized by individuals seeking to maximize fat loss involves performing moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise following an overnight fast. Proponents of fasted cardiovascular exercise assert that the strategy increases rates of fat oxidation compared to postprandial exercise due to decreases in glycogen stores, low levels of circulating insulin, elevated lipolytic hormones and increased free fatty acid availability that characterize the post-absorptive state [
4,
5]. Individuals also tend to extrapolate that an acute increase in fat oxidation translates to reductions in body fat over time when in fact, this outcome is multifaceted and more contingent upon energy balance changes over time than acute substrate utilization changes [
6]. However, reports concerning the efficacy of post-absorptive exercise for facilitating weight loss and improving various metabolic health markers have been mixed. Chronic fasted endurance training has been shown to increase rates of both peripheral and intramyocellular fat oxidation [
4,
7], upregulate maximal rates of oxidative enzyme activity [
4], blunt intra-exercise glycogen breakdown [
7], and improve both insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance during a hypercaloric, high-fat diet compared to identical training conducted after feeding [
8]. Furthermore, previous studies have demonstrated via whole-room indirect calorimetry that morning post-absorptive cardiovascular exercise resulted in greater accumulated fat oxidation across 24 h compared to intensity-matched postprandial exercise in both males [
9,
10] and females during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle [
11]. However, two recent training studies have reported similar rates of fat loss between females who performed either fasted or postprandial steady state (50 min at 70% heart rate reserve, 3 days per week) aerobic exercise [
12] and high-intensity interval training [
13] during extended periods of caloric restriction, thus reiterating the notion that caloric restriction is the primary contributor to fat loss rather than acute changes in fat oxidation.
One potential downside of post-absorptive cardiovascular exercise is the potential for breakfast to be delayed significantly or even skipped completely by exercising individuals. The consumption of high-protein morning meals has been shown to increase feelings of satiety during the day [
14], reduce subsequent snacking behaviors [
15], improve body composition [
16], and potentiate weight loss in conjunction with a hypocaloric diet [
17]. In addition, dietary protein exerts an anti-catabolic stimulus when ingested before or during exercise, providing a practical rationale for exercising individuals who may wish to minimize protein degradation during endurance exercise modalities [
18]. Furthermore, preliminary evidence suggests that the acute ingestion of a high-protein meal immediately before exercise may have beneficial effects on post-exercise energy expenditure compared to pre-exercise carbohydrate ingestion [
19,
20] or fasted conditions [
5]. Indeed, research by Wingfield and investigators [
20] used a crossover study design to examine the acute impact of protein or carbohydrate feedings prior to moderate aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training, or resistance exercise sessions. When a single dose of whey protein was consumed before exercise, significantly greater increases in energy expenditure and fat oxidation were found to occur during the hour after exercise. Hackney and colleagues [
19] noted that this effect of pre-exercise whey protein feeding on resting metabolism appears to last for at least 24 h after resistance exercise, though rates of fat oxidation were not different between carbohydrate or protein treatments. Likewise, Paoli et al. [
5] reported that consuming a protein-rich meal prior to moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise resulted in significant increases in resting metabolism for 24 h after exercise. While the meal induced acute elevations in RER relative to a control (fasted) condition, rates of fat oxidation were significantly lower at 12 and 24 h post-exercise in those who consumed a pre-exercise meal.
Clearly, targeted research must be conducted to further investigate the interaction between nutritional and exercise strategies which are purported to maximize fat loss. Given the demonstrated benefits of pre-exercise protein ingestion, performing cardiovascular exercise following a protein feeding may prove to be a more effective fat loss strategy than fasted exercise of similar intensity. Protein ingestion may improve short-term metabolic outcomes, as subtle elevations in RER due to protein intake may be offset by subsequent elevations in resting energy expenditure (REE) to increase the total quantity of fat oxidized during and after lower intensity, otherwise fasted exercise. However, as no investigation has evaluated the effect of different types of protein on metabolic outcomes during and after moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, it is relevant to examine whether different sources of protein differ in their effect on postprandial metabolism due to differing absorption kinetics and amino acid profiles [
21]. Upon ingestion, whey protein passes quickly through the stomach and rapidly increases plasma amino acid levels, while casein gels and condenses in the stomach, resulting in delayed gastric emptying and a prolonged reduction in whole-body protein catabolism [
22,
23]. Furthermore, whey and casein protein have been shown to differ greatly in their effect on postprandial metabolism, as the thermic effect of food (TEF) of a meal containing whey protein was found to be significantly greater than a similar meal containing casein [
24]. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to quantify the effects of isocaloric and isonitrogenous pre-exercise feedings of whey protein isolate (WPI) and casein protein (CAS) on fat oxidation and energy expenditure during and after a bout of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise compared to isocaloric carbohydrate and control (fasted) conditions. It was hypothesized that pre-exercise protein ingestion would increase post-exercise energy expenditure and fat oxidation compared to both carbohydrate and fasting conditions. It was further hypothesized there would be no difference in energy expenditure and fat oxidation between the two sources of protein examined in this study.
Discussion
The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of consuming supplemental levels of whey and casein, as well as carbohydrate, 30 min prior to a moderate intensity bout of treadmill exercise in comparison to completing an identical bout of exercise in a fasted state. The findings from this study indicate that exercising while fasted did not appreciably impact energy expenditure or substrate utilization either during or after exercise. Pre-exercise casein protein supplementation significantly increased rates of post-exercise fat oxidation and energy expenditure while whey protein resulted in less total fat oxidized during the exercise bout compared to casein (Fig.
5 and Fig.
6).
Results from the present study indicate that pre-exercise protein consumption (WPI: 15.9 ± 8.3% and CAS: 15.4 ± 3.5%) results in significant increases in resting energy expenditure following fasted moderate-intensity exercise compared to an isocaloric carbohydrate feeding (MAL: 7.3 ± 4.8%) or pre-exercise fasting (CON: 8.9 ± 6.7%). These findings align with the conclusions of similar investigations that evaluated the relationship between acute pre-exercise nutrition interventions and subsequent changes in post-exercise resting energy expenditure. Wingfield et al. [
20] reported that an acute protein feeding resulted in significant elevations in resting energy expenditure for 60 min following exercise compared to a pre-exercise carbohydrate feeding. Such conclusions are supported by a well-developed body of research reporting that the consumption of high protein meals or short-term high protein diets results in elevated rates of postprandial dietary thermogenesis compared to lower-protein controls [
24,
32‐
35]. Interestingly, a recent report has suggested that moderate intensity exercise may potentiate dietary thermogenesis. Kang et al. [
36] reported that the TEF of a 721-kcal meal (23% PRO, 41% CHO, 36% FAT) consumed by subjects 60 min before moderate intensity exercise at 50% peak oxygen consumption (VO
2peak) resulted in a two-fold increase in dietary thermogenesis compared to the isolated TEF of the meal while the subjects remained at rest. The results reported by Kang et al. [
36] suggest that pre-exercise feeding significantly potentiates energy expenditure during exercise in both males and females, findings which support the conclusions of Davis and colleagues [
37,
38]. Likewise, results reported by Stiegler et al. [
39] support the notion that exercise-induced potentiation of dietary thermogenesis seems to only occur if exercise is performed after a meal. While such outcomes were not directly assessed by the design of the present study, such an effect would nonetheless align with the results of this study.
It is vital to mention that because an increase in resting energy expenditure was detected after every condition in the present study, a portion of the increased REE likely resulted from excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) [
40], particularly because of the close proximity that existed between cessation of the exercise bout and post-exercise REE measurements. However, Paoli et al. [
5] highlighted in their discussion that an exercise bout consisting of 36 min of treadmill exercise at 65% HRR was not of sufficient intensity to result in appreciable EPOC after 12 h of recovery. Because the exercise intervention used in the present study was of similar duration (30 min) and intensity (~ 60% HRR), it is likely that EPOC played a relatively minor role in post-exercise metabolic changes. Similarly, the exercise intensity implemented in the present intervention and others falls within the range known to elicit maximal fat oxidation (45–65% maximal oxygen consumption (VO
2max) [
41]. Thus, the conclusions of this study regarding substrate utilization and energy expenditure should not be extrapolated to exercise interventions comprised of higher or lower exercise intensities or of durations that reach markedly beyond what was utilized in the present study.
The absence of differences in intra-exercise RER between conditions observed during this investigation somewhat contrasts with earlier reports which concluded that pre-exercise feeding blunts intra-exercise fat oxidation (Reviewed in Ref. [
42]). However, differences in study duration, exercise intensity, timing of ingestion, amount of food and composition of food ingested, and training status of participants are all factors that may impact changes in energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. Regardless, one-way ANOVA revealed that total fat oxidized during several five-minute intervals of exercise was significantly lower after ingestion of WPI compared to CAS and MAL, potentially due to differences in absorption and insulin response between the two protein sources [
43]. While this outcome was not directly measured in this investigation, it is possible that the insulin response to WPI ingestion in this investigation was greater than MAL, as Dalbo et al. [
44] reported significant post-exercise elevations in insulin after pre-exercise ingestion of 25 g WPI but not MAL. While our work should certainly be considered preliminary and pilot in nature, these results suggest that casein protein may be preferable to whey protein with respect to intra-exercise fat oxidation. However, the augmented post-exercise reduction in RER following protein feeding observed during this investigation is in accordance with earlier studies and may be the result of transient elevations in protein synthesis [
5,
20]. It is well-established that the relative contribution of lipids to metabolism increases during the recovery period following cessation of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (45–65% VO
2peak) [
45,
46]. In agreement with the present study, Wingfield and colleagues [
20] observed a significant decrease in RER up to 60 min after exercise following a protein feeding compared to carbohydrate feeding, results which were corroborated by Paoli et al. [
5], who noted a significant elevation in lipid utilization both 12 and 24 h after cessation of exercise completed in a postprandial state when compared to a post-absorptive state. However, these conclusions reached by Paoli et al. are not shared by Iwayama and colleagues [
10,
11], who reported that 24-h rates of fat oxidation determined via metabolic chamber were greater in both males and females following a 60-min bout of post-absorptive cycling exercise at 50% VO
2max compared to an identical bout of exercise performed after a standardized meal (15% PRO, 60% CHO, 25% FAT). It is important to note that the aforementioned studies primarily utilized mixed meals. Thus, the rates of digestion, TEF response, and fuel utilization likely varied greatly in comparison to the isolated nutrients provided in the current study.
Chronic relative macronutrient intake in the days prior to exercise appears to influence rates of substrate oxidation both during and after an exercise bout [
20]. Patterson and Potteiger [
47] compared substrate utilization kinetics between participants who consumed a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet (40% PRO, 20% CHO, 40% FAT) or a moderate-carbohydrate diet (15% PRO, 55% CHO, 30% FAT) during the 48-h period before treadmill exercise at 55% VO
2max. The researchers reported that the low-carbohydrate diet in conjunction with a two-hour pre-exercise fast elicited significantly increased rates of intra-exercise and post-exercise fat oxidation and significantly decreased rates of intra-exercise and post-exercise carbohydrate oxidation compared to the isocaloric, moderate-carbohydrate diet Because the dietary intake of the participants in the present study were not overtly controlled, but were advised to keep their nutrient intake the same prior to each visit, it is possible but not likely that any variation in dietary macronutrient ratios between conditions impacted our measured outcomes. In this respect, one should consider that all participants were required to complete a food record that was copied and replicated for each study for each subsequent study visit. Future research investigating metabolic outcome measures during and after exercise should ensure that all dietary intake is completely controlled in the days prior to testing visits.
Limitations of the current study include the lack of a mixed gender cohort and the absence of longer-duration metabolic assessment following the cessation of exercise, both of which reduce the generalizability of the study results. To completely assess the effect of pre-exercise feeding and protein source on post-exercise metabolism, future research should utilize intermittent follow-up metabolic measurements for at least 12 h following exercise, as inferences regarding long-term energy expenditure and substrate utilization cannot be adequately extrapolated from one acute post-exercise resting metabolic rate assessment. Finally, because no modifications were made to the participants’ self-directed pre-testing dietary intakes, substrate availability may have differed between participants and thus altered intra-exercise and post-exercise substrate utilization data. Future research in this area should implement a standardized diet prior to acute metabolic measurements to reduce any confounding influence of dietary intake.