Impact of Exercise Physiology and Diet on Adipokines in Health and Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

You are kindly invited to contribute with your work to the present Special Issue entitled “Impact of Exercise Physiology and Diet on Adipokines in Health and Diseases”.

Physical activity in the form of exercise is an important integrative therapy in metabolic, inflammatory, and chronic diseases, as well as for the maintenance of one’s health status. Exercise impacts several organs (including muscle and adipose tissue), causing long-term adaptations that enable efficient oxygen delivery, muscle capacity, and metabolic response, thus improving performance, body composition, and promoting healthy living. Adipokines, expressed by adipose tissue, have been associated with such positive effects of exercise. Adipose tissue, indeed, is recognized as an active endocrine organ secreting several adipokines capable of acting both in an autocrine/paracrine and endocrine manner and implicated in energy balance regulation, insulin sensitivity, and pro- and anti-inflammatory processes. Importantly, adipokines have gained attention and interest with respect to physical activity and exercise in both healthy subjects and those in a diseased state. Indeed, their serum levels and receptor expression seem to be differently regulated in response to exercise, although data are still inconclusive. Nutrition is a key component in a healthy lifestyle. Adhering to different dietary patterns strongly induces several organ responses, including adipose tissue endocrine function. Thus, adipokines secretion is strictly related to nutrition, representing a hormonal signal controlling lipid and glucose metabolism, body composition, and inflammatory responses.

The aim of this Special Issue is to elucidate the connections among adipokines, exercise, and diet in both health and disease.

Our Special Issue will be open for submissions until 31 March 2025.

Prof. Dr. Aurora Daniele
Dr. Ersilia Nigro
Guest Editors

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• adipose tissue
• adiponectin
• adiponectin receptors
• physical exercise
• exercise
• health
• disease

Title: Investigating the correlation between visceral fat area and Heart Rate trend during a single bout of high-intensity exercise
Authors: Alessandra Amato1, Luca Petrigna1, Martina Sortino1, Giuseppe Musumeci *,1,2
Affiliation: 1Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 97, Catania, 95123, Italy 2Research Center on Motor Activities (CRAM), University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°97, 95123 Catania, Italy
Abstract: Abstract It’s demonstrated an influence of body composition, especially the adipose tissue, on exercise physiology and thus performance. However, no one has ever studied the effect of visceral fat (VF) on heart rate trends during exercise by using bioimpedance analysis (BIA). This could be a key point for programming safe and effective training programs, with an adequate scheduled rest time and lower cardiovascular risk. This study aims to investigate the adipose tissue variables as predictors of Heart rate trends during 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise. 100 subjects (age:22.8± 5.1) were included in the data analysis. First of all, they performed a bioimpedance analysis to detect the following parameters: VF, total Fat percentage (fat %), right leg fat %, left leg fat %, right arm fat %, left arm fat %, trunk fat %, and weight (kg). After that, the heart rate was recorded at three-time points: Baseline Heart rate (BHR), after 15 minutes of rest and acclimatization; peak heart rate (PHR), at the end of high-intensity exercise; and the recovery heart rate (RHR), 1 minute after the end of the exercise. After BHR a 30-second countermovement jump test was performed. The univariate linear regression analysis was performed to detect the association between body composition variables and heart rate trends. Fat percentage resulted as a predictor of heart rate recovery post exercise (p<0.01; R2:0.071) like the VF (p<0.01; R2:0.073) and the trunk fat % (p<0.01). However, the leg fat, the arm fat %, and weight have no association with heart rate recovery (p>0.05). Nobody composition variables were associated with increased heart rate during exercise. The results show that the higher VF is associated with a slower heart rate decrease after high-intensity exercise and it is not affected by weight or segmental fat. Before a scheduled training program it would be safer to know a person's visceral fat, especially if they are overweight, and possibly provide for longer recoveries or an exercise intensity appropriate for the subject (more than 60 seconds). Keywords: adipose tissue, exercise physiology, body composition, heart rate recovery, exercise testing, training