Microbiome
Generally speaking, a person’s microbiome – the collection of micro-organisms in their body – is relatively stable. Yet a change in lifestyle may change its composition as well. Factors that may affect the microbiome are a person's diet, illness, certain medications and how much they weigh. Exercise can also impact your microbiome. For instance, multiple studies have shown that endurance athletes host a different collection of gut microbes than non-athletes.
Quick results
This American study investigated whether the same effect could be achieved by having non-athletes initiate a programme of endurance-based exercise. The microbiologists examined the influence of endurance training on the composition, capacity and metabolic products of the so-called gut microbiota in adults with a normal weight and adults who were overweight. For a period of six weeks, the 32 participants were expected to cycle or run for one hour, three times a week. None of the adults were in the habit of exercising before the study began. In order to study how the gut microbiota changed, blood and faeces were examined before and after the period of endurance training. The results showed that it takes only a few weeks of endurance training to alter the composition and function of a person’s intestinal microbes.
Short-chain fatty acids
While most of the changes varied from one participant to another, there were also some commonalities. Following the endurance training, more of the bacteria that use carbohydrates (such as healthy dietary fibre ) to produce short-chain fatty acids were found. These fatty acids help to prevent gut infections, for example, but also protect against diabetes. The improvements in the gut microbiota were greatest among the participants who had a normal body weight.
Keep moving!
The participants’ blood and faeces were examined until six weeks after the study had ended. Nearly all positive changes in the gut microbiota had disappeared once more following this ‘exercise-free’ period. Each microbiome appeared exactly as it had before the study. The message is clear: the benefits of exercise will only continue if you manage to keep your healthy resolutions for 2018!