The statement “when glucose stores are low during exercise, energy can be liberated from adipocytes via lipogenesis” is false. The correct process is lipolysis , not lipogenesis.

Below is a blog-style “Quick Scoop” post in the style you requested.

When glucose stores are low during exercise, energy can be liberated from

adipocytes via lipogenesis.

Quick Scoop

When your muscles run low on glucose during a workout, your body does not flip a “fat-making” switch for energy—it flips a fat-breaking switch instead.

True or false?

Short answer: The statement is false.
When glucose stores are low during exercise, energy is liberated from adipocytes via lipolysis , the breakdown of stored fat, not lipogenesis.

Key terms in plain language

  • Adipocytes : Fat cells that store energy in the form of triglycerides.
  • Lipolysis : The process of breaking down triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol so they can be used for energy.
  • Lipogenesis : The process of making fat, usually from excess glucose or other substrates, and storing it in adipocytes.

So, lipolysis = breaking fat down; lipogenesis = building fat up.

What really happens during exercise?

When you start exercising, your muscles first rely heavily on stored glycogen (the storage form of glucose in muscle and liver).

As exercise continues and glucose/glycogen stores fall :

  1. Hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine increase.
  2. These hormones stimulate lipolysis in adipocytes.
  3. Triglycerides in fat cells are broken into free fatty acids and glycerol.
  1. Free fatty acids travel in the blood to working muscles, where they are oxidized (burned) for ATP.

This shift helps preserve blood glucose and allows you to keep going, especially during longer or lower–to–moderate-intensity exercise.

Why lipogenesis is the wrong term here

The statement claims that energy is liberated via lipogenesis , but that would mean:

  • The body is synthesizing new fat , not extracting energy.
  • Lipogenesis happens mostly in the fed state , when you have excess glucose and energy , and is promoted by insulin.
  • During exercise with low glucose , the hormonal environment is almost the opposite of what promotes lipogenesis.

Multiple educational sources explicitly state that the correct process during low glucose is lipolysis , and they mark the statement in your question as False for this reason.

Mini “exam-cram” section

If you’re studying for physiology, biochemistry, or exercise science, here’s a quick way to remember it:

  • Low glucose + exercise → lipolysis in adipocytes → fatty acids for fuel.
  • High glucose + insulin (after meals) → lipogenesis in adipocytes → fat storage.

If the goal is to release energy from fat, think “lysis,” not “genesis.”

Small storytelling-style example

Imagine you’re 45 minutes into a run. Your muscle glycogen is dropping. Your nervous system senses the rising energy demand and falling carbohydrate reserves. Stress hormones rise and “knock” on your fat cells. In response, adipocytes begin lipolysis : they slice stored triglycerides into fatty acids, which spill into the bloodstream and ride to your muscles like tiny energy shuttles, where they are burned in the mitochondria. In this entire scene, lipogenesis—the building of new fat—would be completely out of place.

SEO-friendly wrap-up

  • The statement “when glucose stores are low during exercise, energy can be liberated from adipocytes via lipogenesis” is false.
  • Correct concept: energy is liberated via lipolysis , the breakdown of stored fat.
  • Lipogenesis is a storage process, not an energy-yielding one, and is more active in the fed, high-glucose, high-insulin state.

TL;DR: Low glucose during exercise → lipolysis , not lipogenesis. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.