Metabolic effects of regular physical exercise in healthy population

To assess the effect of moderate regular aerobic physical activity not associated to body weight changes on insulin resistance and the associated metabolic changes in general population.

A cross-sectional, observational study in an adult population (n=101 subjects aged 30-70 years) with no personal history of disease and with stable weight in the three months prior to the study. The group with regular exercise performed 30-60 minutes of moderate regular physical exercise 5 days per week (7.5-15 hours MET per week), while a control group performed no regular physical exercise and had a sedentary lifestyle. Subjects were age- and sex-matched. Lipids, lipoproteins, and HOMA index were measured using standard methods.

The group with regular physical activity consisted of 48 subjects (21 male/27 female), while the group with no regular physical activity included 53 subjects (31 male/22 female). No significant differences were found between the groups in age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure. Significant differences were found between the groups in fasting serum triglyceride, HDL-C, and apoB levels. Fasting plasma insulin levels (12.1 ± 4.13 vs 14.9 ± 4.8 mU/L, P= .004) and HOMA index (2.8 ± 1.1 vs 3.5 ± 4.1, P= .001) were significantly lower in the group with regular physical activity as compared to the sedentary group. Prevalence rates of metabolic syndrome were 20.7% and 45.8% (P=.01) in the regular physical activity and sedentary groups respectively.

Moderate regular physical activity is associated to higher insulin sensitivity, an improved lipid profile, and a decrease in components of metabolic syndrome with no change in weight or BMI.