There is little understanding about dietary proteins and their potential contribution to obesity-induced inflammation. This study investigates the effect of 10 weeks of aerobic training and whey protein (WP) supplementation on visceral adipose tissue inflammation in rats fed a high fat diet (HFD). In the first phase, 40 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: 1- normal diet (n=8), 2- high-fat diet (n=32). After this period—which lasted nine weeks—in the second phase, rats fed a HFD were randomly assigned into four groups: (n=8/group): 1- sedentary, 2- WP, 3- aerobic training, and 4- WP + aerobic training. The aerobic training was performed for 10 weeks, five days/week at 21 m/min, 15% incline, 60 minutes/day. HFD significantly increased body weight, adiposity index, fat pads weight, glucose levels, and insulin resistance index compared to the normal diet. Also, levels of TNF-α, MCP-1, HIF-1α, and VEGF-A in adipose tissue and serum levels of TNF-α were increased in the HFD group. Glucose levels, insulin resistance index, and triglyceride (TG) were reduced only by WP, independently of aerobic training. Both the aerobic training and WP reduced the fat pads weight, levels of TNF-α, HIF-1α, and VEGF-A in adipose tissue. Nevertheless, the levels of MCP-1 in adipose tissue and serum levels of TNF-α and MCP-1 were not reduced significantly by WP or aerobic training. These findings suggest that both aerobic training and WP supplementation lead to a reduction in adiposity and ameliorate obesity-induced inflammation in visceral adipose tissue.
