High Fat Low Muscle
In animals high fat feeding impairs the ability of skeletal tissue to hypertrophy (build muscle) in response to mechanical loading. It is speculated that in humans the consequence of a high fat diet and subsequent increase in fat mass means an associated decrease in muscle mass.
The argument has been that large increases in fatty tissue is in response not only to diet, but an obvious decrease in exercise and day to day activity. Though this may in many instances be true, it is becoming more obvious that muscle to adipose tissue interaction is a “two way street”
When looking at the anabolic pathways in human systems and studying molecules such as AKT and S6K1 it is becoming increasingly clear that accumulation of fat mass due to high fat feeding influences the ability of the muscle to hypertrophy in response to exercise.
What may be occurring? Protein synthesis is necessary for muscular growth. It is probable that because adipose tissues in obesity cause low grade systemic inflammation, the inflammation interferes with protein synthesis. It may also be the saturated fats directly interpose with the inflammation to inhibit protein synthesis.
The old myth that “muscle turns into fat when you stop working out” is certainly not true. Muscle cells and fat cells have different structure and functions. But in a human biological system the symbiosis between the two tissues is seemingly greater than what exercise physiologists once suspected.
The bottom line is manage your weight and watch what you eat when you train….. to Get Strong.
Pendulum Hip Press
