Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans
Abstract Humans have, throughout history, faced periods of starvation necessitating increased physical effort to gather food. To explore adaptations in muscle function, 13 participants (7 males and 6 females) fasted for seven days. They lost 4.6 ± 0.3 kg lean and 1.4 ± 0.1 kg fat mass. Maximal isome...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55418-0 |
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| author | Kristoffer J. Kolnes Emelie T. F. Nilsen Steffen Brufladt Allison M. Meadows Per B. Jeppesen Øyvind Skattebo Egil I. Johansen Jesper B. Birk Kurt Højlund Janne Hingst Bjørn S. Skålhegg Rasmus Kjøbsted Julian L. Griffin Anders J. Kolnes Stephen O’Rahilly Jørgen F. P. Wojtaszewski Jørgen Jensen |
| author_facet | Kristoffer J. Kolnes Emelie T. F. Nilsen Steffen Brufladt Allison M. Meadows Per B. Jeppesen Øyvind Skattebo Egil I. Johansen Jesper B. Birk Kurt Højlund Janne Hingst Bjørn S. Skålhegg Rasmus Kjøbsted Julian L. Griffin Anders J. Kolnes Stephen O’Rahilly Jørgen F. P. Wojtaszewski Jørgen Jensen |
| author_sort | Kristoffer J. Kolnes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Humans have, throughout history, faced periods of starvation necessitating increased physical effort to gather food. To explore adaptations in muscle function, 13 participants (7 males and 6 females) fasted for seven days. They lost 4.6 ± 0.3 kg lean and 1.4 ± 0.1 kg fat mass. Maximal isometric and isokinetic strength remained unchanged, while peak oxygen uptake decreased by 13%. Muscle glycogen was halved, while expression of electron transport chain proteins was unchanged. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) expression increased 13-fold, accompanied by inhibitory pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphorylation, reduced carbohydrate oxidation and decreased exercise endurance capacity. Fasting had no impact on 5’ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity, challenging its proposed role in muscle protein degradation. The participants maintained muscle strength and oxidative enzymes in skeletal muscle during fasting but carbohydrate oxidation and high-intensity endurance capacity were reduced. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-50b252fe2cce415fbe9030b779c6486c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-50b252fe2cce415fbe9030b779c6486c2025-01-05T12:38:28ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111410.1038/s41467-024-55418-0Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humansKristoffer J. Kolnes0Emelie T. F. Nilsen1Steffen Brufladt2Allison M. Meadows3Per B. Jeppesen4Øyvind Skattebo5Egil I. Johansen6Jesper B. Birk7Kurt Højlund8Janne Hingst9Bjørn S. Skålhegg10Rasmus Kjøbsted11Julian L. Griffin12Anders J. Kolnes13Stephen O’Rahilly14Jørgen F. P. Wojtaszewski15Jørgen Jensen16Norwegian School of Sport SciencesNorwegian School of Sport SciencesNorwegian School of Sport SciencesDepartment of Biochemistry, University of CambridgeDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus UniversityNorwegian School of Sport SciencesNorwegian School of Sport SciencesAugust Krogh Section for Molecular Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of CopenhagenSteno Diabetes Center Odense, Odense University HospitalAugust Krogh Section for Molecular Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Nutrition, Division for Molecular Nutrition, University of OsloAugust Krogh Section for Molecular Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Biochemistry, University of CambridgeSection of Specialized Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, Oslo University HospitalMRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of CambridgeAugust Krogh Section for Molecular Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of CopenhagenNorwegian School of Sport SciencesAbstract Humans have, throughout history, faced periods of starvation necessitating increased physical effort to gather food. To explore adaptations in muscle function, 13 participants (7 males and 6 females) fasted for seven days. They lost 4.6 ± 0.3 kg lean and 1.4 ± 0.1 kg fat mass. Maximal isometric and isokinetic strength remained unchanged, while peak oxygen uptake decreased by 13%. Muscle glycogen was halved, while expression of electron transport chain proteins was unchanged. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) expression increased 13-fold, accompanied by inhibitory pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphorylation, reduced carbohydrate oxidation and decreased exercise endurance capacity. Fasting had no impact on 5’ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity, challenging its proposed role in muscle protein degradation. The participants maintained muscle strength and oxidative enzymes in skeletal muscle during fasting but carbohydrate oxidation and high-intensity endurance capacity were reduced.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55418-0 |
| spellingShingle | Kristoffer J. Kolnes Emelie T. F. Nilsen Steffen Brufladt Allison M. Meadows Per B. Jeppesen Øyvind Skattebo Egil I. Johansen Jesper B. Birk Kurt Højlund Janne Hingst Bjørn S. Skålhegg Rasmus Kjøbsted Julian L. Griffin Anders J. Kolnes Stephen O’Rahilly Jørgen F. P. Wojtaszewski Jørgen Jensen Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans Nature Communications |
| title | Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| title_full | Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| title_fullStr | Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| title_short | Effects of seven days’ fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| title_sort | effects of seven days fasting on physical performance and metabolic adaptation during exercise in humans |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55418-0 |
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