Scientists in the UK appear to have discovered another benefit of exercise, which is that it can improve our bodies’ use of certain types of fat. In a new study this week, researchers found that endurance athletes burn saturated fat much better than non-exercise athletes. People with type 2 diabetes, a distinction that emerged in the diabetic group once they also started exercising.
The research was led by scientists from the University of Aberdeen. They were interested in unraveling a particular biological mystery, known as… The athlete’s paradox. Studies have found that endurance athletes and type 2 diabetics tend to store greater amounts of fat within their muscle fiber cells than others, although they differ greatly in other ways. For example, athletes are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than diabetics, and usually have high insulin sensitivity (by definition, those with type 2 cannot respond to or produce insulin effectively).
To better understand how this phenomenon occurs, the researchers recruited 29 male endurance athletes and 30 diabetics for an experiment. .
First, volunteers were injected with small amounts of different fats intravenously and their thighs were scanned with an MRI to see how they were used by muscle cells. They also underwent a biopsy of their thigh muscle cells and basic measurements of their metabolism were taken. The volunteers then swapped their lives for the next eight weeks, with the athletes avoiding their usual physical activity routine and the type 2 diabetics undergoing resistance training. To the point of exercising five hours a week. Eight weeks later, the same tests were done again.
The researchers found that the bodies of athletes stored higher levels of saturated fat within their muscle cells than the bodies of people with diabetes, but they also burned it more efficiently. In contrast, diabetics’ bodies stored more trans fats within their muscles, but were worse at burning them. Of both types of fat. However, after the swap, the two groups began to mirror each other, and diabetics who exercised stored and burned less saturated fat than both athletes and non-fit athletes.
The team’s findings published The Wednesday communications in Nature are based on a relatively small sample size. Therefore, more studies will be needed to confirm the team’s findings. here. But plenty of research has shown the many ways exercise can improve our health, so it’s certainly possible. That this could be another one of them.
Dana Dawson, lead author of the study and Head of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, said: “These findings are completely new and highlight how staying fit and active improves saturated fat metabolism as a direct benefit of exercise.” statement from the University.
Aside from burning fat better, the researchers also found that people with diabetes lost weight, had increased insulin sensitivity, and lowered cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose levels once they started exercising: all reasons enough for anyone who doesn’t exercise to get started.
“When it comes to being active, it’s important to get into a routine that you enjoy and can stick to,” he said. Brian Williams, scientific and medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said in a university statement. “Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling.”
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