Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption after different moderate physical activities in a healthy female population

AIM: In the recovery period after exercise there is an increase in oxygen uptake defined excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The magnitude of EPOC after aerobic exercise may depend on duration and intensity of exercise, on type of exercise (split exercise or continuous sessions) and on subjects\u2019 training status and sex. Weight loss can be achieved by increasing energy expenditure (EE). EPOC causes an increase in caloric burn during the recovery period, to be taken into consideration in relation to energy balance and weight loss. It is not clear whether various modes of aerobic exercise affect EPOC differently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of moderate intensity of cycling (C), treadmill (T), arm crank (A) exercises, cross-training exercise (CT) and moderate to vigorous intensity activities of daily living (DLA) on EPOC. METHODS: Six young moderately active females (age, 24.2\ub10.8 yr; BMI, 21.5\ub12.4 kg/m2; RMR, 1288\ub178.2 kcal/day; V\u2019O2peak cycle ergometer, 40.3\ub14.3 ml/kg/min; V\u2019O2peak treadmill, 40.9\ub16.9 ml/kg/min; V\u2019O2peak arm ergometer, 22.2\ub13.4 ml/kg/min) participated in the study over a three-week period. In the first week subjects filled a Baecke questionnaire on habitual physical activity, underwent a resting metabolic rate (RMR) measurement and 3 incremental tests to exhaustion (V\u2019O2peak at treadmill, cycle ergometer and arm ergometer). In the second and third week they completed five bouts of 30 min of exercise at 60% of V\u2019O2peak separated by 48 hours of rest: a continuous C, T, A, a combining running, cycling and arm crank (CT) for 10 min each and ADL (3-6 METs). Before (30 min pre) and after (2 hours post) each exercise bout a RMR measurement was carried out in a sitting position (K4b2, Cosmed, Italy). A MANOVA and a repeated measures ANOVA were used for data analysis. RESULTS EPOC ranged in between 7% and 17% of Total Energy Expenditure. EPOC magnitude was also higher for CT than all the others training modes, even not significantly. O2 consumed during and after T and C was significantly higher than A when normalized to the pre-exercise levels (P<0.001). The higher oxygen consumption (V\u2019O2) during exercise was found for T and C, significantly higher when compared with CT and ADL (P<0.01); on the contrary A was significantly lower than all the other training modes (P<0.001). The respiratory exchange ratio (QR) was significantly lower for T when compared with C during exercise (P<0.01). Differences were detected during exercise between training modes for energy source utilization: fat utilization was significantly higher for T when compared with all the other training modes (P<0.01), otherwise carbohydrates utilization was significantly higher for C when compared with T, A, and ADL (P