Factors Influencing Substrate Oxidation During Submaximal Cycling: A Modelling Analysis

Background Multiple factors influence substrate oxidation during exercise including exercise duration and intensity, sex, and dietary intake before and during exercise. However, the relative influence and interaction between these factors is unclear. Objectives Our aim was to investigate factors influencing the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during continuous exercise and formulate multivariable regression models to determine which factors best explain RER during exercise, as well as their relative influence. Methods Data were extracted from 434 studies reporting RER during continuous cycling exercise. General linear mixed-effect models were used to determine relationships between RER and factors purported to influence RER (e.g., exercise duration and intensity, muscle glycogen, dietary intake, age, and sex), and to examine which factors influenced RER, with standardized coefficients used to assess their relative influence. Results The RER decreases with exercise duration, dietary fat intake, age, VO2max, and percentage of type I muscle fibers, and increases with dietary carbohydrate intake, exercise intensity, male sex, and carbohydrate intake before and during exercise. The modelling could explain up to 59% of the variation in RER, and a model using exclusively easily modified factors (exercise duration and intensity, and dietary intake before and during exercise) could only explain 36% of the variation in RER. Variables with the largest effect on RER were sex, dietary intake, and exercise duration. Among the diet-related factors, daily fat and carbohydrate intake have a larger influence than carbohydrate ingestion during exercise. Conclusion Variability in RER during exercise cannot be fully accounted for by models incorporating a range of participant, diet, exercise, and physiological characteristics. To better understand what influences substrate oxidation during exercise further research is required on older subjects and females, and on other factors that could explain additional variability in RER.

Automated summary

This study investigates the factors influencing respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during continuous exercise. It identifies exercise duration, dietary intake, and sex as the most influential factors on RER. The study also suggests that current models cannot fully explain the variability in RER and calls for further research on older subjects, females, and other factors that could explain additional variability.