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APPETITE, OBESITY, DIGESTION, AND METABOLISM

Individual differences in physical activity are closely associated with changes in body weight in adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

¹Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland; ²Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon; ³Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and ⁴Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon

Submitted 25 January 2006 ; accepted in final form 31 March 2006

The increased prevalence of overweight adults has serious health consequences. Epidemiological studies suggest an association between low activity and being overweight; however, few studies have objectively measured activity during a period of weight gain, so it is unknown whether low activity is a cause or consequence of being overweight. To determine whether individual differences in adult weight gain are linked to an individual’s activity level, we measured activity, via accelerometry, over a prolonged period (9 mo) in 18 adult female rhesus monkeys. Weight, food intake, metabolic rate, and activity were first monitored over a 3-mo period. During this period, there was mild but significant weight gain (5.5 ± 0.88%; t =–6.3, df = 17, P < 0.0001), whereas caloric intake and activity remained stable. Metabolic rate increased, as expected, with weight gain. Activity level correlated with weight gain (r = –0.52, P = 0.04), and the most active monkeys gained less weight than the least active monkeys (t = –2.74, df = 8, P = 0.03). Moreover, there was an eightfold difference in activity between the most and least active monkeys, and initial activity of each monkey was highly correlated with their activity after 9 mo (r = 0.85, P < 0.0001). In contrast, food intake did not correlate with weight gain, and there was no difference in weight gain between monkeys with the highest vs. lowest caloric intake, total metabolic rate, or basal metabolic rate. We conclude that physical activity is a particularly important factor contributing to weight change in adulthood and that there are large, but stable, differences in physical activity among individuals.

exercise; obesity; weight gain; energy balance

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. A. Hunnell, N. J. Rockcastle, K. N. McCormick, L. K. Sinko, E. L. Sullivan, and J. L. Cameron Physical activity of adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) across the menstrual cycle Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, June 1, 2007; 292(6): E1520 - E1525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]