Research

Hormonal

Exercise induces the release of myokines (irisin, IL-6, IL-15, METRNL, BAIBA) and hepatokines (FGF21, ANGPTL4, follistatin) which mediate fat mass loss by promoting white adipose tissue (WAT) browning, increasing fatty acid oxidation, and reducing systemic inflammation.

To lose fat, focus on consistent exercise (aerobic or resistance) to trigger the release of 'exercise-inducible factors' like irisin and IL-6. These molecules help turn white fat into metabolically active brown/beige fat and improve insulin sensitivity, leading to sustained fat loss even after your workout ends. Don't just rely on the calories burned during the exercise; the hormonal changes are key.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Myokines such as irisin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-15 (IL-15), meteorin-like (METRNL), and β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) have been consistently shown to be released by SkM in response to exercise. These exert beneficial physiologic and metabolic effects not only in SkM itself but also in distant tissues such as white adipose tissue (WAT)... to drive a systemic anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitive state, permissive for optimization of total-body energy expenditure.
Adrian M. González-Gil et al. · Nutrients · 2020

Why this rating

The paper is a narrative review summarizing various preclinical and clinical studies; it does not present new primary data.

Source

The Role of Exercise in the Interplay between Myokines, Hepatokines, Osteokines, Adipokines, and Modulation of Inflammation for Energy Substrate Redistribution and Fat Mass Loss: A Review

Adrian M. González-Gil et al. · Nutrients · 2020

DOI 10.3390/nu12061899

narrative_reviewCited 261×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →