AIMRC Seminar: Novel Mechanisms Promoting Energy Intake Compensation in Response to Aerobic and Resistance Exercise

About this event

The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center (AIMRC) will host Dr. Kyle Flack , an Associate Professor of Pathology, Pharmacology, and Physiology at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) Research Institute, Health & Wellness Center, at 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4, in BELL 2269 . In this seminar, Dr. Flack will share research examining how aerobic and resistance exercise affect energy balance, body composition, and cardiometabolic health. His work seeks to better understand the mechanisms underlying energy compensation and why individuals can experience different responses to the same exercise intervention.

Abstract: Physical activity recommendations call for engaging in both aerobic (AE) and resistance exercise (RE). Prior research has shown that adding RE to an AE intervention enhances fat loss, fat-free mass retention, and improves cardiometabolic health. However, previous studies have not matched the energy expenditure of AE-only and combined AE + RE interventions, making it difficult to determine whether these benefits result from the addition of RE itself or simply from the greater energy expenditure of the combined exercise program. Further, weight loss achieved from exercise is consistently only 40%-50% of that predicted based on exercise energy expenditure. This attenuated weight loss in response to exercise has been coined “energy compensation” and is driven by exercise-induced increases in energy intake (EI) and adaptations that reduce metabolic energy expenditure. It is unknown whether energy compensation differs in response to AE versus AE+RE.

Biography: Dr. Flack received his PhD from Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise in 2014, studying resistance exercise effects on mitochondrial function in older adults. He went on to complete a three-year postdoctoral fellowship as a Research Molecular Biologist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center (Grand Forks, ND), where he directed trials centered on understanding the underlying mechanisms governing eating and exercise behaviors (behavioral physiology). This included an early investigation into how the body adapts to compensate for the energy expended during exercise, thus resisting weight loss. This led to subsequent studies as faculty in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition centered on exercise-induced adaptations that could explain the compensatory response to an energy deficit. He joined the faculty at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) in October 2024, and was recently awarded an R01 from the National Institutes of Health, primarily focusing on understanding mechanisms driving energy intake compensation with resistance and aerobic exercise.

This event is supported by NIGMS of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 2P20GM139768. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Pizza and beverages will be served. Please contact Kimberley Fuller, fullerk@uark.edu , for more information.

For those unable to attend in person, this seminar will also be available via Zoom .