Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Dec 20;8(6):1003-8.
doi: 10.5114/aoms.2012.32406. Epub 2012 Dec 19.

The influence of oral water load on energy expenditure and sympatho-vagal balance in obese and normal weight women

Piotr Kocełak  1 , Agnieszka Zak-Gołąb, Anna Rzemieniuk, Joanna Smętek, Ryszard Sordyl, Agata Tyrka, Maciej Sosnowski, Barbara Zahorska-Markiewicz, Jerzy Chudek, Magdalena Olszanecka-Glinianowicz
Affiliations

The influence of oral water load on energy expenditure and sympatho-vagal balance in obese and normal weight women

Piotr Kocełak et al. Arch Med Sci. .

Abstract

Introduction: Oral water load may increase the energy expenditure (EE) by stimulation of sympathetic dependent thermogenesis. Thus, drinking of water may be helpful in weight reduction. The aim of the study is to assess the influence of water load on energy expenditure and sympathetic activity in obese and normal weight women.

Material and methods: Forty-five women were included. Energy expenditure was measured twice, in the morning and after oral water load, by the indirect calorimetric method. The heart rate variability parameters low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), LF/HF index, standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN) and root mean square difference among successive RR normal intervals (rMSSD) were used for the indirect assessment of the sympatho-vagal balance.

Results: Resting energy expenditure (REE) was significantly higher in obese than in normal weight women (1529 ±396 kcal/day vs. 1198 ±373 kcal/day; p = 0.02). In both study groups after water load EE increased significantly (by 20% and by 12%, corresponding to 8.6 kcal/h and 5.2 kcal/h respectively), while, LF/HF index increased simultaneously. The increase of energy expenditure (EE) did not exceed the energetic cost of water heating, from room to body temperature - 15 kcal/1000 ml. There was no correlation between changes of energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters.

Conclusions: The increase of EE induced by water load is mostly related to the heating of the consumed water to body temperature. The assessment of autonomic balance by means of standard HRV indices had been found insufficient for detection of actually operating mechanisms.

Keywords: energy expenditure; obesity; oral water load; sympatho-vagal balance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The increase of energy expenditure (EE) after water load in normal weight (n = 21) and obese (n = 24) women
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Clapham JC, Arch JR. Thermogenic and metabolic antiobesity drugs: rationale and opportunities. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007;9:259–75. - PubMed
    1. Lowell BB, Spiegelman BM. Towards a molecular understanding of adaptive thermogenesis. Nature. 2000;404:652–60. - PubMed
    1. Tews D, Wabitsch M. Renaissance of brown adipose tissue. Horm Res Paediatr. 2011;75:231–9. - PubMed
    1. Cannon B, Nedergaard J. Brown adipose tissue: function and physiological significance. Physiol Rev. 2004;84:277–359. - PubMed
    1. Mercer SW, Trayhurn P. Effect of high fat diets on energy balance and thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue of lean and genetically obese ob/ob mice. J Nutr. 1987;117:2147–53. - PubMed