In a recent study published within the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from Poland examined the impact of repeated sessions of whole-body vibration on resting metabolic rates of healthy young men below the age of 25 years.
Background
The energy expenditure of the body when the person is awake, at rest, in a thermoneutral state, and having had no exercise within the last 12 hours is often called the resting metabolic rate.
Increasing the resting metabolic rate is taken into account useful in weight management because it contributes probably the most to total energy expenditure. While physical activity also increases the resting metabolic rate, the growing problem of obesity and diseases related to obesity have resulted in the necessity for more methods to extend the overall energy expenditure.
Whole body vibration is a technique with promising metabolic effects, including improving blood circulation, body density, muscle strength, and nervous system function.
It has been used to treat various diseases similar to osteoporosis, sarcopenia, ataxia, chronic lower back pain, and even improve quality of life after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-) related complications.
Whole body vibration has also shown positive impacts on resting metabolic rates, however the effect of repeated sessions has not yet been evaluated.
Concerning the study
In the current study, the researchers conducted a randomized, parallel trial where healthy men between the ages of 21 and 23 years were randomly assigned to 2 groups — one group received whole body vibration because the intervention while the opposite group received a placebo.
The participants included within the study were lively and had normal body mass indices (BMI) but weren’t involved in any competitive sports.
Individuals who were obese or obese, with metabolic or anxiety disorders, or who used pharmaceuticals and stimulants were excluded from the study. The analyzed data included body composition, weight loss program, resting metabolic rate, and physical activity levels.
The entire-body vibration was conducted five times per week for 2 weeks in a vibration therapy laboratory where the environmental conditions were maintained to be constant.
The vibration utilized in this intervention was cycloidal-oscillatory and was administered by an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist. The participant was required to be in a prone position through the intervention, and the vibration was applied to the upper limbs, trunk, and thighs, with additional local vibration applied to the abdomen.
The frequency, acceleration, and amplitude ranges of the vibration were 25–52 Hz, 6.9–13.5 m/s2, and 0.1–0.5 mm, respectively, and every session was 29 minutes long. An analogous device that produced equivalent sound but no vibration was used for the placebo group.
Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry was used to measure body mass, fat mass, fat-free mass, and body fat percentage. Body height measurements were also recorded to calculate the BMI.
A four-day food diary maintained by all of the participants was used to evaluate the weight loss program, with the caloric content assessed by a certified nutritionist. A physical activity questionnaire was also used to find out the physical activity levels.
In fasting, the resting metabolic rate was calculated every morning at the identical time, with clear instructions given to all of the participants to organize for metabolic rate measurement. The participants were required to avoid exercise three days before the measurement and never eat any stimulants similar to caffeine or nicotine.
They were instructed to make no changes to their physical activity or weight loss program through the course of the study and to stay adequately hydrated. Indirect calorimetry using an ergospirometer was used to measure the resting metabolic rate.
Results
The findings indicated that the participants within the whole-body vibration group had a significantly higher resting oxygen uptake and resting metabolic rate after the intervention as in comparison with the control group.
The researchers consider that the prone position of the participants through the application of whole-body vibration allowed them to deactivate the postural muscles and stimulate the abdominal cavity directly using local vibration.
The local vibration is believed to affect gastrointestinal function and not directly impacts the thermic effect of food, which incorporates the energy invested in chewing, swallowing, digesting, and absorbing food and nutrients.
Other studies have reported an almost 15.6% increase in metabolic rate related to the sympathetic stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract, and whole-body vibrations have been known to enhance gastrointestinal function.
Provided that the thermic effect of food contributes significantly to the overall energy expenditure, using local vibrations to the abdominal cavity could explain the rise in resting metabolic rate. Moreover, the rise in metabolic rate may be as a consequence of improved circulation from the vibrations applied to the opposite regions of the body.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings indicated that just two weeks of repeated administrations of whole-body vibrations together with local vibrations applied to the abdominal cavity were effective in significantly increasing the resting metabolic rate.
These results highlight the potential use of whole-body vibration in targeting health problems related to metabolic rates, similar to obesity.