Exercise training reduces adipose tissue inflammation in older women
20 Oct 2020
Does it help to be recommending things generally good for the body, as a preventative measure against disease – even if the evidence is inconclusive?Physical fitness leads to less inflammation of the adipose tissue in older women, reports a study, noting how exercise training contributes to beneficial metabolic outcomes.
“Metabolic disturbances and a pro-inflammatory state associated with ageing and obesity may be mitigated by physical activity or nutrition interventions,” the authors said.
This study was conducted to determine whether physical fitness or exercise training lessens inflammation in adipose tissue, particularly in combination with omega-3 supplementation, and whether changes in adipose tissue induced by exercise training contribute to an improvement of insulin sensitivity and metabolic health in older women.
The authors examined the effect of physical fitness in cross-sectional comparison of physically active/fit (trained) and sedentary/less physically fit (untrained) older women (n=48; mean age, 71 years) and in double-blind randomized intervention by 4 months of exercise training with or without omega-3 (Calanus oil) supplementation (n=550).
Spiroergometry (maximum graded exercise test) and senior fitness tests were used to assess physical fitness. Insulin sensitivity was measured by hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp. Finally, the authors used samples of subcutaneous adipose tissue to analyse mRNA gene expression, cytokine secretion, and immune cell populations.
Compared with untrained women, those trained had lower mRNA levels of inflammation and oxidative stress markers, lower relative content of CD36+ macrophages, and higher relative content of γδT-cells in adipose tissue. Similar effects were repeated in response to an exercise training intervention for 4 months.
Moreover, content of CD36+ cells, γδT-cells, and mRNA expression of several inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were associated with insulin sensitivity and cardiorespiratory fitness.
“When combined with exercise training, omega-3 supplementation had no additional beneficial effects on adipose tissue inflammatory characteristics,” the authors noted.