Those with obesity who are long-term exercisers have been found to have healthier belly fat tissue than those who are non-exercisers, not only that but they can store fat there more effectively, under the skin rather than in and around internal organs, according to a study from the University of Michigan published in Nature Metabolism.
“Our findings indicate that in addition to being a means to expend calories, exercising regularly for several months to years seems to modify your fat tissue in ways that allows you to store your body fat more healthfully if or when you do experience some weight gain — as nearly everyone does as we get older,” said principal investigator Jeffrey Horowitz, professor of movement science at the U-M School of Kinesiology.
Exercise induced fat modifications
To examine the effects of years of regular exercise on fat tissue, the researchers compared 2 groups of adults with obesity: 16 of whom reported exercising at least four times a week for at least two years, with an average of 11 years; and 16 who reported never exercised regularly but matched in other things like body fat mass, weight and sex. The researchers also took samples of belly fat tissue just under the skin from both groups.
The exerciser group was found to have distinct structural and biological characteristics in their fat tissue which increased the capacity to store fat there, and those in the nonexercisers did not have those characteristics. Specifically, those in the exerciser group had more blood vessels, mitochondria, and beneficial proteins, as well as less of a type of collagen that can interfere with metabolism and fewer cells that cause inflammation.
Why this is important
This is important because the healthiest place to store fat is just under the skin where the samples were taken, and it is called subcutaneous adipose tissue. Increasing the capacity to store fat here through exercise reduces the need to store fat in unhealthy places, like in the visceral fat tissue around the organs or in the organs themselves.
“Compared with our previous study in which we examined the effects of three months of training on fat tissue, we generally see these differences are more robust in people who exercise regularly for years versus those who don’t exercise,” Horowitz said.
“What it means is that if or when people experience weight gain, this excess fat will be stored more ‘healthfully’ in this area under the skin (subcutaneous), rather than in the fat tissue around their organs (visceral fat) or an accumulation of fat in organs themselves, like the liver or heart.”
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Take for example unhealthy fat accumulation around the liver leading to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease which most often happens in those with obesity or overweight. This excess fat build-up in the liver can cause diseases like cancer and cirrhosis, and it is gaining more attention in America as the prevalence is increasing.
Next steps
Long-term studies are needed to track people as they begin and maintain exercise programs for several years to examine how their fat tissue changes, even if the amount of fat tissue that they have doesn’t change. This way we can investigate the types of intensity and exercises that can achieve better responses in modifying fat tissue.
According to the researchers, the follow-up studies will investigate whether the fat tissue grown from exercisers and non-exercisers functions differently, and if there are other health-related differences that may translate to the health of the tissue and the person the cells came from.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://news.umich.edu/staff/laura-bailey/
https://news.umich.edu/long-term-exercisers-have-healthier-belly-fat/
