Stefano Lazzer

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Udine

Background: Lower limb motor output contributes to determining functional performance in many motor tasks. This study investigated the effects of non-invasive spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation (scTS) applied during an exercise-based priming protocol on lower limb muscle force and power generation. Methods: Twelve young, physically active male...

Purpose : This study investigated the relationship between training-load (TL) metrics and the acute performance decrement (APD) measured immediately after 4 training sessions performed by well-trained runners. Methods : On a treadmill, 12 well-trained runners (10 men and 2 women) performed an incremental test, a baseline time-to-exhaustion (TTE) te...

(1) Background: Individuals with obesity tend to stop exercising after the completion of a structured training program. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess adherence and body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity levels, and physical and mental health after a 12-month exercise program and an 18-month follow-up perio...

Purpose Dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been implicated in promoting insulin resistance. However, their impact on insulin resistance in a mixed population made up of males and females remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the relationship between dietary AGEs and insulin resistance may be sex-depen...

Physical inactivity is among the main modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, along with an inadequate diet, active and passive smoking, and alcohol abuse. In general, the lack of physical activity is considered one of the main risk factors for years of life lost due to mortality, morbidity, and disability from many non-communicable ch...

Background/Objectives: This study compared metabolic syndrome (MetS) features in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) to those in age-, BMI-, and gender-matched subjects with essential obesity (EOB). Methods: Thirty-two PWS patients (23 females, 9 males; median age 31.6 years; BMI 42.0 kg/m²) underwent several assessments, including anthropome...

Background: Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) is the accumulation of fat in the liver without excessive alcohol consumption or other known liver diseases. MASLD is the most common liver disease in adolescents with obesity. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to determine which index (waist circumference BMI, W...

Background The implication of body composition and energy metabolism in the control of human energy intake (EI) has been well described in adults, remaining however unexplored in adolescents with obesity. The aim of this study was to question the role of body composition, energy expenditure (EE) and substrate metabolism in the control of EI of adol...

This study investigated the effects of non-invasive spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation (scTS) applied during an exercise-based priming protocol on the neuromuscular performance of lower limbs in young active males. Twelve volunteers (age: 22.7±2.1 years) participated in this randomized crossover, sham-controlled study. Maximal voluntary contrac...

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of prolonged aerobic exercise on cardiac, muscular and renal inflammatory markers in a group of trained obese men. Methods Seventeen men (aged 40 ± 6 years; body mass index [BMI] 31.3 ± 2.8 kg m⁻², maximal oxygen uptake [V’O2max] 41.5 ± 5.6 ml kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) ran a half, 30 km, or full mar...

Introduction This work aims at evaluating the adaptations of the energy cost of walking (Cw) to simulated weight gain at different walking speeds in adolescents with obesity. Methods Substrate use and Cw were evaluated during a graded walking exercise (4 × 5min at 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5 m.s⁻¹) performed under three randomized body weight conditions (B...

With this document, based on data from scientific literature, HappyAgeing aims to propose a series of actions to counteract the negative effects of physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle on the health of older adults. The focus will not only be on "active" older adults—those in good health—but also on individuals experiencing frailty, chroni...

Background Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is a clinical disorder characterized by increased adiposity and decreased muscle mass and function, commonly observed in older adults. However, most of the studies that investigated SO prevalence rates were not based on current standardized diagnostic methods. Thus, this study aims to estimate the prevalence rates...

Objectives: Bilateral Deficit (BLD) occurs when the force generated by both limbs together is smaller than the sum of the forces developed separately by the two limbs. BLD may be modulated by physical training. Here, were investigated the effects of unilateral or bilateral plyometric training on BLD and neuromuscular activation during lower limb ex...

Aim Weight loss leads to a reduction of the energy cost of walking but the respective implications of the metabolic and mechanic changes remain unknown. The present study compares the post-weight loss energy cost of walking (Cw) with and without a total reload of the induced weight reduction in adolescents with obesity. Methods Energy cost of walk...

Background In the last decade a large number of studies proposed and/or validated equations to estimate the Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in adults and/or older adults, however, no equation currently available showed good accuracy for older adults with severe obesity. Thus, this study aimed to develop and validate new predictive equations for RE...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined training (COMB, a combination of moderate-intensity continuous training-MICT and high-intensity interval training-HIIT) vs. continuous MICT administered during a 3-week in-hospital body weight reduction program (BWRP) on body composition, physical capacities, and substrate oxidation in adolesc...

The combination of high volume of moderate-intensity continuous training with a low volume of high-intensity interval training improved body composition and physical capacities in individuals with obesity. However, polarized training (POL) has never been used in adult men with obesity. Thus, the purposes of this study were to investigate changes in...

Purpose In sky- and trail-running competitions, many athletes use poles. The aims of this study were to investigate whether the use of poles affects the force exerted on the ground at the feet (Ffoot), cardiorespiratory variables and maximal performance during uphill walking. Methods Fifteen male trail runners completed four testing sessions on di...

Purpose: Exercise prescription based on fixed heart rate (HR) values is not associated with a specific work rate (WR) during prolonged exercise. This phenomenon has never been evaluated in cardiac patients, and might be associated with a slow component of HR kinetics and -adrenergic activity. The aim was to quantify, in cardiac patients, the work...

Backgroud: Sarcopenia is a common skeletal muscle syndrome that is common in older adults but can be mitigated by adequate and regular physical activity. The development and severity of sarcopenia is favored by several factors, the most influential of which are a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity. The aim of this observational longitudin...

Recent evidence shows that simple and inexpensive anthropometric measurements can be used to identify, at an early stage, women with obesity at increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS). Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of five different indexes of adiposity and/or body composition in identifying MetS in a group...

Dietary lipids are pivotal in modulating metabolic inflammation. Among the inflammatory mediators characterizing metabolic inflammation, interleukin 18 (IL-18) has been consistently associated with obesity and insulin resistance. This study aims to evaluate whether the quality of lipid intake impacts upon IL-18 plasma levels and the implications on...

Obesity and related metabolic diseases represent a worldwide health problem. The main factor predisposing to obesity is an unhealthy lifestyle including the lack of physical activity. A pivotal role in the etio-pathogenesis of obesity is carried out by adipose tissue, an endocrine organ secreting several adipokines involved in numerous metabolic an...

Background/Objectives: A weekly combination of a high volume of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) with a low volume of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) provides important improvements in body composition and physical capacities in individuals with obesity. However, previous studies did not determine the weekly proportions of HIIT...

Objectives: Electrically-induced or voluntary conditioning-contractions (CC) can be used to affect contractile properties of a subsequent explosive contraction (EC). Here, we aimed at comparing the effect of neuromuscular-electrical-stimulation (NMES) vs voluntary CC performed prior to explosive contractions of the knee extensors. Methods: A 10...

Purpose Accumulating the time near maximum aerobic power $$\left( {{\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{{{\text{2max}}}} } \right)$$ V ˙ O 2max is considered to be the most effective way to improve aerobic capacity. The aims of this study were: (1) to verify whether postponing the first recovery interval improves time to exhaustion during a high-intensity int...

Obesity is a complex condition characterized by abnormal and excessive fat accumulation, resulting in an increased risk for severe health problems. Skeletal muscles play a major role in movement and fat catabolism, but the insulin resistance that comes with obesity makes it difficult to fulfill these tasks. In this study, we analyse two types of tr...

Background/Objectives Body composition and protein-energy partitioning changes are important factors of body weight regulation, but have not been studied in the context of clinical obesity treatment setting. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the pattern of body weight loss, body composition, and energy partitioning changes durin...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.840018.].

Background: We investigated the effects of single (SL-ET) and double leg (DL-ET) high-intensity interval training on O2 deficit (O2Def) and mean response time (MRT) during square-wave moderate-intensity exercise (DL-MOD), and on the amplitude of V˙O2p slow component (SCamp), during heavy intensity exercise (DL-HVY), on 33 patients (heart transplan...

Simple Summary Irisin is a known myokine secreted mainly by the muscle that is produced after physical activity. It induces browning in the adipose tissue with a consequent increase in mitochondrial oxidation of lipids and reduction of insulin resistance; thus, it has been hypothesized that irisin was the molecule mediating most of the beneficial e...

Diet plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of chronic diseases. In this regard, the Mediterranean diet has been widely shown to exert beneficial effects on cardiometabolic health. On the contrary, the Western diet, which has also been reported to be an acidogenic dietary pattern, elicits detrimental effects on both metabolic and cardiovasc...

Background The aim of the present study was to examine the short-term changes in body composition and physical capabilities in subjects with obesity during a multidisciplinary inpatient body weight reduction program (BWRP). Methods One hundred thirty-nine adolescents (56 boys and 83 girls; BMI: 37.1 ± 6.5 kg/m²; Fat Mass, FM: 45.3 ± 7.2%) and 71 a...

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), a multisystemic disorder caused by lack of expression of genes on the paternally inherited chromosome 15q11.2-q13 region, is characterized by hyperphagia and childhood-onset morbid obesity, A retrospective cohort study of 60 PWS patients, 38 females and 22 males, undergoing a 6-year rehabilitation program was analysed....

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare pole walking (PW) and walking without poles (W) on a steep uphill mountain path (1.3 km, 433 m of elevation gain) at 2 different intensities: a maximal effort that would simulate a vertical kilometer intensity and a lower intensity (80% of maximal) simulating an ultratrail race. Methods: On the first...

Simple Summary Among healthy male and female obese individuals undergoing a 12-week aerobic exercise program with either moderate intensity endurance or high-intensity interval training for losing weight, a reduction of circulating irisin was observed. Irisin is an important adipo-myokine implicated in the regulation of energy metabolism and cardio...

BACKGROUND: Many sport performances are influenced by maximal muscular power. Stereotyped training stimuli progressively reduce their potential to improve the neuromuscular factors contributing to maximal muscular power. Herein, we investigated the effects of substituting a standard resistance training with a plyometric training performed in a cond...

Background The aim of the present study was to examine the short-term changes in body composition and physical capabilities in subjects with obesity during a multidisciplinary inpatient body weight reduction program (BWRP). Methods One hundred thirty-nine adolescents (56 boys and 83 girls; BMI: 37.1±6.5 kg/m²; Fat Mass, FM: 45.3±7.2 %) and 71 adul...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in the energy cost of locomotion during walking (Cw) related to changes in body mass (BM, kg) and body composition in adolescents with obesity. Twenty-six (12 boys and 14 girls) obese adolescents (mean: body mass index, 33.6 ± 3.7 kg·m–2; 42.7 ± 4.5% fat mass (FM)) followed a 9-month multi...

Purpose: To compare energetics and spatiotemporal parameters of steep uphill pole walking on a treadmill and overground. Methods: First, the authors evaluated 6 male trail runners during an incremental graded test on a treadmill. Then, they performed a maximal overground test with poles and an overground test at 80% (OG80) of vertical velocity o...

Background: The purpose was to compare the effects of 8-weeks resistance training programs (Flywheel Iso-inertial, FW vs Traditional Gravity-Dependent Resistance Training, GD) performed twice a week at the same rate of perceived exertion (RPE), on muscle force and power capacities and physical performance in healthy older participants. Methods:...

In recent years, different companies have developed devices that estimate “running power”. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of running speed on aerobic and running powers measured using force plates and by different devices. The second objective is to evaluate the relationship between aerobic power and running powers measu...

Downhill running has an important effect on performance in trail running competitions, but it is less studied than uphill running. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cardiorespiratory response during 15 minutes of downhill running (DR) and to evaluate the neuromuscular consequences in a group of trail runners. Before and after a 15-mi...

Maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) is impaired in heart (HTx), kidney (KTx), and liver (LTx) transplanted recipients and the contribution of the cardiovascular, central, and peripheral (muscular) factors in affecting V̇O2max improvement after endurance training (ET) has never been quantified in these patients. ET protocols involving single leg cy...

Introduction Obesity treatment guidelines suggest moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), but the patient’s compliance to this indication remains low. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time sparing training mode whose metabolic effects are not clear. This study aimed to determine whether a 12-week HIIT was more effective than MICT...

Physical fitness in childhood is considered a marker of current and future health. For this reason, there is a need for a simple but reliable test to assess the different components of physical fitness even at school during physical education lessons. However, standard values are required to correctly interpret the results of such tests. Hence, thi...

Purpose Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is commonly used in neuromuscular rehabilitation protocols, and its parameters selection substantially affects the characteristics of muscle activation. Here, we investigated the effects of short pulse width (200 µs) and higher intensity (short-high) NMES or long pulse width (1000 µs) and lower in...

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between physical activity habits, physical performance and cognitive capacity in older adults' population of Italy and Slovenia. Methods: Anthropometric characteristics and body composition bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were evaluated in 892 older adults (60-80 y). Aerobic capacit...

Background: Schools constitute the ideal setting in which children's physical activity, physical fitness, and health status can improve. However, intervention protocols and their effectiveness vary considerably. The purpose of the study was to investigate the differences in physical fitness and overweight and obesity prevalence between children at...

PurposeTraining near \(\dot{V}\)O2max is considered to be the most effective way to enhance \(\dot{V}\)O2max. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a well-known time-efficient training method for improving cardiorespiratory and metabolic function and \(\dot{V}\)O2max. While long HIIT bouts allow \(\dot{V}\)O2max to be achieved quickly, short H...

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate, in obese adults, changes in body composition, physical capacities, fat oxidation and ex vivo mitochondrial respiration induced by a 3-month either moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) or high-intensity interval training (HIIT); afterwards, the patients were followed for four months.Metho...

Background: Participants in ultramarathon and multi-stage races are continuously increasing. A detailed knowledge of the time-course of the restoration in muscular, cardiac, and inflammatory biomarkers after a multi-stage race may help the design of training schedules focused to avoid adverse outcomes of repetitive high-intensity endurance exercis...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a 3-week in-hospital body weight reduction program (BWRP), entailing moderate energy restriction, physical activity, psychological counseling and nutritional education, on body composition and lower limb muscle power (LLP) output in obese children and adolescents. Three thousand seven h...

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between physical fitness and body mass index categories (obesity, OB; overweight, OW; normal-weight, NW; and underweight, UW) in prepubertal children. Anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics were collected from a convenience sample of 30472 Italian schoolchildren (6–11 years...

Purpose The aim of the present study was to understand the role of central (cardiovascular O2 delivery) and peripheral factors (muscle level) in limiting the maximal aerobic performance in obese (OB) subjects. Methods Fifteen OB (mean age ± SD 25 ± 7 years; BMI 43 ± 7 kg/m²) and 13 lean sedentary subjects (CTRL, age 27 ± 7 years; BMI 22 ± 3 kg/m²)...

Evaluation of cardiorespiratory parameters is important in athletic population in order to monitor the training status and define training intensities. The aim of this study was to validate an easy-to-perform running test called RABIT® (Running Advisor Billat Training) for detecting aerobic (AerT) and anaerobic (AnT) threshold and maximum parameter...

Purpose In trail running and in uphill races many athletes use poles. However, there are few data about pole walking on steep uphill. The aim of this study was to compare the energy expenditure during uphill walking with (PW) and without (W) poles at different slopes. Methods Fourteen mountain running athletes walked on a treadmill in two conditio...

Purpose: to evaluate the effects of a trail-running race on muscle oxidative function by measuring pulmonary gas exchange variables and muscle fractional O2 extraction. Methods: Eighteen athletes were evaluated before (PRE) and after (POST) a trail running competition of 32-km or 50-km with 2000 m or 3500 m of elevation gain, respectively. Durin...

In young and older people skeletal muscle mass is reduced after as little as seven days of disuse. The declines in muscle mass after such short periods are of high clinical relevance, particularly in older people who show higher atrophy rate, and a slower, or even a complete lack of muscle mass recovery after disuse. Ten men (24.3± 2.6 years) under...

PURPOSE: Self-myofascial release (SMFR) is a type of self-massage that is becoming popular among athletes. However, SMFR effects on running performance have not been investigated yet. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of SMFR on cost of running (Cr). In addition, we evaluated the effects of SMFR on lower limbs muscle power....

In this study, we investigated: i) the effects of bed rest and a subsequent physical training program on metabolic cost (Cw), mechanical work and efficiency during walking in older and young men; ii) the mechanisms underlying the higher Cw observed in older than young men.Twenty-three healthy male subjects (N = 16 older adults, age 59.6±3.4 years;...

Key points: Superposition of hypoxia on 21 day bed rest did not worsen the impairment of skeletal muscle oxidative function induced by bed rest alone. A significant impairment of maximal oxidative performance was identified downstream of cardiovascular O2 delivery, involving both the intramuscular matching between O2 supply and utilization and mit...

Key points: Disuse in older adults can critically decrease lower limb muscle power, leading to compromised mobility and overall quality of life. We studied how muscle power and its determinants (muscle mass, single muscle fibre properties and motor control) adapted to 2 weeks of disuse and subsequent 2 weeks of physical training in young and older...

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on the importance of aerobic exercise and its characteristics for healthy aging. The first section briefly reviews the effects of aging on maximal aerobic power; Section 2 considers the effects of aerobic exercise training, and Section 3 summarizes the recommendations and some limitations of the...

The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in cardiac troponin I levels (cTnI) and the main biomarkers of skeletal muscle damage after an uphill-only marathon, along with its relationship with athletes’ physiological parameters. Twenty-two runners participated in the “Supermaratona dell’Etna” (43 km, 0–2850 m AMSL). Before and immediately after t...

Background & aims: Aging and experimental bed rest are associated with muscle atrophy and resistance to post-prandial stimulation of protein synthesis or anabolic resistance (AR). We have used in young and older adult volunteers, during short-term bed rest, a quick and non-invasive method, based on a single oral bolus of the stable isotope L[ring-...

During acute stress (such as 14 days of horizontal bed rest, BR) plasma level of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (pBDNF) was demonstrated to increase in older, but not younger adults. We hypothesized that this increase might represent a mechanism of brain protection, and that performing computerized cognitive training (CCT) would...

Background: Recent studies showed a positive effect of Hydrogen Rich Water (HRW) intake on acid-basic homeostasis at rest. We investigated 2-weeks of HRW intake on repeated sprint performance and acid-base status during prolonged intermittent cycling exercise. Methods: In a cross over single-blind protocol, eight trained male cyclists (age [mean...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a 12-week home-based strength, explosive and plyometric (SEP) training on the cost of running (Cr) in well-trained ultra-marathoners and to assess the main mechanical parameters affecting changes in Cr. Twenty-five male runners (38.2 ± 7.1 years; body mass index: 23.0 ± 1.1 kg·m(-2); V˙O2m...

Recently, a number of smartphone apps appeared that allow for heart rate measurements basing on the photoplethysmography principle. In fact, almost every smartphone now has a camera with flash that could be used for that. Some studies appeared on the reliability of some of those apps, with heterogeneous results. The present study aims at adding up...

Acute stress, as bed rest, was shown to increase plasma level of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in older, but not in young adults. This increase might represent a protective mechanism towards acute insults in aging subjects. Since computerized cognitive training (CCT) is known to protect brain, herein we evaluated the eff...

In this paper the development of a low-cost and easy wearable mechatronic system for the measurement of ground reaction forces (GRF) for the biomechanical analysis of the human locomotion is presented. The system consists of an insole, a conditioning device for the signals produced by the sensors applied to the insole and a data acquisition system...

Purpose: To investigate changes in running mechanics during a six hours running race. Methods: Twelve ultra-runners (age: 41.9±5.8 years; body mass: 68.3±12.6 kg; stature: 1.72±0.09 m) were asked to run as many 874 m flat loops as possible in six hours. Running speed, contact (tc) and aerial (ta) times were measured in the first lap and every 30...

PurposeTo investigate the effects of a 3-week weight-management program entailing moderate energy restriction, nutritional education, psychological counseling and three different exercise training (a: low intensity, LI: 40 % V′O2max; b: high intensity, HI: 70 % V′O2max; c: high-intensity interval training, HIIT), on body composition, energy expendi...

This investigation aimed to compare the response of older adult and young men to bed-rest and subsequent rehabilitation. Sixteen older (OM: 55-65 years) and seven young men (YM: 18-30 years) were exposed to 14-day bed rest (BR) followed by 14-day rehabilitation (R). Quadriceps muscle volume (QVOL), force (QF) and explosive power (QP) of leg extenso...