Background and Purpose: Obesity, through increased systemic inflammation, elevates the risk of neurodegeneration. This study examined the effects of six weeks of high-intensity functional training combined with a ketogenic diet and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplementation on brain neurometabolites—key indicators of neuronal health.
Materials and Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, 21 overweight or obese volunteers were assigned to three groups: high-intensity functional training (EX), training combined with a ketogenic diet enriched with MCTs (EX+KD), and a control group (C). Training was performed for six weeks, three sessions per week. The ketogenic diet was designed by a nutritionist, and MCT supplements were consumed daily. Neurometabolite levels were measured using single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) from the cerebellar vermis (1.5T Philips Ingenia) and processed with Osprey software. Data analysis used one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test (α = 0.05).
Results: Compared with the control group, myo-inositol (mI) decreased by 12% in EX and 57% in EX+KD, while choline (Cho) increased by 97% and 193%, respectively. N-acetylaspartate (NAA) rose by 91% in EX and 38% in EX+KD. All changes were significant (P < 0.05), indicating meaningful intervention effects on neurometabolite profiles.
Conclusion: High-intensity functional training alone improved the neurometabolite profile, shown by increased Cho and NAA and decreased mI. Combining exercise with an MCT-based ketogenic diet further amplified changes in Cho and mI, exerting stronger neuroprotective effects and potentially mitigating obesity-related neurodegeneration, although this synergistic effect did not occur for NAA