Exercise, protein may help reduce weight

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18 (UPI) -- Researchers in Chile say decreased waist size was one of the links to a blood protein spurred by exercise.

The researchers also linked aerobic-exercise related increased levels in the blood of this protein to lowered blood pressure, reduced body fat and reduced food intake.

The research team, led by Dr. A. Veronica Araya, of the University of Chile Clinical Hospital in Santiago said the protein the researchers looked at is known to promote the growth and survival of nerve cells called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.

Araya evaluated blood levels of BDNF before and after a three-month program of aerobic exercise in overweight or obese people. The seven men and eight women, ages 26 to 51, worked out on a treadmill and bicycle. They were asked about their calorie intake and told to continue eating their usual number of calories. The participants were unaware that one of the study's objectives was to evaluate changes in food intake.

Over the three months, BDNF levels greatly increased. The higher the concentration of BDNF, the less the subject's intake of calories and the greater the weight loss.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society in San Francisco.