title: Weight loss via diet and exercise improves exercise breathing mechanics in obese men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity alters breathing mechanics during exercise. Weight loss improves lung function at rest, but the effect of weight loss, especially regional fat loss, on exercise breathing mechanics is unclear. We hypothesized that weight loss, especially a decrease in abdominal fat, would improve breathing mechanics during exercise because of an increase in end-expiratory lung volume (EELV).
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine obese men were studied before and after weight loss (13% ± 8% of total fat weight, mean ± SD). Subjects underwent pulmonary function testing, underwater weighing, fat distribution estimates (MRI), and graded cycle ergometry before and after a 12-week diet and exercise program. In seven men, esophageal and gastric pressures were measured. The effects of weight loss were analyzed at rest, at ventilatory threshold (VTh), and during peak exercise by dependent Student t test, and the relationship among variables was determined by correlation analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects lost 7.4 ± 4.2 kg of body weight (P < .001), but the distribution of fat remained unchanged. After weight loss, lung volume subdivisions at rest were increased (P < .05) and were moderately associated (P < .05) with changes in chest, waist, and hip circumferences. At VTh, EELV increased, and gastric pressure decreased significantly (P < .05). The changes in waist circumference, hip circumference, BMI, and sum of chest, waist, and hip circumferences were also consistently and significantly correlated (P < .05) with changes in gastric pressure during exercise at VTh.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Modest weight loss improves breathing mechanics during submaximal exercise in otherwise healthy obese men, which is clinically encouraging. Improvement appears to be related to the cumulative loss of chest wall fat.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX. Electronic address: TonyBabb@TexasHealth.org.
authors.forename: Tony G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Babb
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Brenda L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Wyrick
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chase
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Darren S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: DeLorey
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Rodder
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Mabel Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
authors.forename: Kamalini G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Ranasinghe
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D015444:Exercise; D005652:Functional Residual Capacity; D006801:Humans; D007320:Inspiratory Capacity; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D014109:Total Lung Capacity; D014797:Vital Capacity; D015431:Weight Loss