Even when accounting for differences in weight, fitness, and blood sugar, the more IGF-I went up, the better the muscle energy recovery — meaning IGF-I likely has a direct role.

In people who took the placebo, IGF-I didn’t go up much, and their muscle energy recovery didn’t link to IGF-I — meaning the connection only showed up when the drug raised IGF-I.

Even when accounting for factors like age, weight, and insulin levels, higher IGF-I still links to better muscle energy recovery in obese people with low growth hormone.

Even when accounting for factors like age, weight, and insulin levels, higher IGF-I still links to better muscle energy recovery in obese people with low growth hormone.

When IGF-I levels go up in obese people with low growth hormone, their muscle's ability to recover energy after exercise also improves, and this connection is statistically significant.

When only looking at the best-quality muscle energy recovery data, higher IGF-I still links to better recovery in obese people with low growth hormone.