Novel mechanisms promoting energy intake compensation in response to aerobic and resistance exercise

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded Arkansas Colleges of Health Education $646,459 on September 1, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to conduct research on novel mechanisms promoting energy intake compensation in response to aerobic and resistance exercise.

The research addresses how individuals compensate for energy expended during exercise by increasing food intake, thereby limiting weight loss—a key barrier to obesity treatment. The study compares weight loss and body composition outcomes between aerobic exercise alone and combined aerobic plus resistance exercise training matched on energy expenditure, and seeks to elucidate the physiological mechanisms driving exercise-induced increases in energy intake between the two intervention groups. The research is motivated by the prevalence of overweight and obesity in over 70 percent of Americans and the limited pharmacological treatment access many individuals face.

Performance occurs in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031. The assistance type is a Project Grant, a standard NIH research award mechanism supporting basic and clinical biomedical research that improves understanding of disease mechanisms and leads to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes, digestive, and kidney diseases.

Abstract

Novel mechanisms promoting energy intake compensation in response to aerobic and resistance exercise over 70% of americans are either overweight or obese, putting them at risk for many chronic diseases. Despite exercise being a prevalent weight loss strategy, weight loss from exercising is often suboptimal. Individuals compensate for a large portion of the energy expended during exercise, thereby resisting maintenance of the negative energy balance needed for weight loss. Increases in energy intake are observed when exercising for weight loss, although the underlying mechanisms promoting these responses have yet to be fully elucidated. With obesity prevalence continually rising, and the limited access to pharmacological treatment many individuals face, innovative research is needed to develop lifestyle obesity treatment strategies. Research has primarily focused on aerobic exercise, although more research is recently demonstrating resistance exercise can confer additional benefits. For this reason, current physical activity guidelines recommend engaging in both aerobic and resistance exercise training. Prior trials comparing aerobic exercise alone to aerobic plus resistance exercise training have been promising, although no prior trial has matched exercise groups on exercise energy expenditure, thus IT is uncertain if additional weight loss / FAT mass loss benefits from adding resistance exercise to an aerobic exercise intervention is solely from the added energy expenditure of the aerobic plus resistance group. The immediate goal of this proposal is to determine weight loss and body composition outcomes in an aerobic VS. Aerobic plus resistance exercise training intervention where groups are matched on exercise energy expenditure. We are also interested in elucidating mechanisms driving exercise-induced increase in energy intake between these two groups. The long-term goal of this research is to understand how lifestyle obesity treatment methods (such as exercise) can be better used to reduce incidence of obesity and improve chronic disease outcomes. The current proposal will randomize physically inactive adults (BMI: 30-40 KG/M2) to either a 24-week aerobic exercise intervention or aerobic plus resistance exercise intervention with both groups progressing to a weekly exercise energy expenditure of 1600 kcal (4 days per week). Body composition will be assessed via DXA while energy expenditure and energy intake will be assessed via the doubly labeled water method. Assessments of underlying physiological mechanisms contributing to energy intake (hormonal mediators of appetite) in addition to novel behavioral mechanisms (attentional bias towards food cues, food reinforcement) will be performed. The central hypothesis for the present trial is that adding resistance exercise to an aerobic exercise intervention will attenuate increases in food reinforcement, causing less energy intake compensation to promote decreases in FAT mass and improve cardiometabolic health. This contribution is significant, as a greater understanding of the physiology driving compensatory responses to exercise is the first step towards improving the efficacy of exercise for weight control and chronic disease management.