Metabolic effects of regular physical exercise in healthy population

Aim: 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. Subjects and methods: 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 min of moderate regular physical exercise 5 days per week (7.5-15 h 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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. (C) 2012 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.