Research published in the February edition of Cell Metabolism has shown that pumping iron burns fat. Obese mice were genetically altered to make their muscles bulk up as though they had been weight training. These mice were found to lose fat and to show other significant signs of metabolic improvement throughout their bodies even though they continued being fed a diet that was high in fat and sugar and had absolutely no increase in physical activity.
This is an extremely significant result in that it goes against the widely held belief that cardio-vascular training is the most significant exercise component in losing weight. And while cardio-vascular exercise does increase the body’s metabolic rate, it now seems that gaining muscle mass might be more significant in allowing the body to metabolize fat cells.
This result has surprised the researchers. Whilst they expected the mice to become stronger due to having more muscle mass they did not expect their body fat to decrease; they expected fat and strong ‘sumo mice’.
Kenneth Walsh, who conducted the research, said that the increase in ‘energy burn’ in muscle can actually cause weight loss and prevent metabolic dysfunction.
"We've shown muscle does more than allow you to pick up heavy objects," said Walsh. "It is also important in controlling whole-body metabolism."
“These findings indicate that type II muscle has a previously unappreciated role in regulating whole-body metabolism through its ability to alter the metabolic properties of remote tissues. "These data also suggest that strength training, in addition to the widely prescribed therapy of endurance training, may be of particular benefit to overweight individuals” concluded Walsh.
The results suggest that weight training to increase muscle mass will be of huge benefit to obese humans and will also help obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and cancer.