Acute Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Blood Glucose and Energy Metabolism in Overweight/Obese Population

Background: In the perspective of preventing cardiovascular disease and promoting health, weight control and physical activity are the main concerns. Electrical stimulation (ES) is an alternate strategy to induce muscle contraction, using electrical impulses. However, effectiveness of ES induced muscle contraction to improve energy expenditure and glucose metabolism is not well examined.Purpose: To determine the acute effect of ES on whole body energy expenditure and body glucose metabolism in sedentary overweight or obese population Methods: Sedentary overweight/obese participants (n=8; age: 37.25 ± 6.09 years; BMI= 37.57 ± 2.43 kg/m2) were included in this study. All participants received bilateral quadriceps ES at maximum tolerable intensity for 30 minutes. Blood glucose metabolism was assessed by RQ and blood lactate level, substrate utilization was measured by indirect calorimetry and body composition was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Energy expenditure did not change during ES (p=0.19), the mean of blood glucose level during ES significantly decreased compared to baseline (p=0.04), substrate utilization (p=0.17), and blood lactate (p=0.44) did not change compared to the baseline. Conclusions: Existing evidence suggest that ES can effectively decrease blood glucose level in sedentary overweight or obese population, and it may not effectively improve the energy expenditure. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a novel alternate strategy to induce muscle contraction, using electrical impulses. However, effectiveness of NMES induced muscle contraction to improve insulin sensitivity and energy expenditure is not clear