Leskinen and colleagues report that in twin pairs discordant for physical activity levels, an active lifestyle promotes the attenuation of high risk body fat deposition.
It is widely accepted that some regions of fat deposition pose a greater health risk than others; abdominal and visceral fat stores in particular are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Within the literature, a number of research studies report a reduction in abdominal and visceral fat stores following relatively short-term exercise training programmes, however, the impact of long term physical activity on fat accumulation is less well established. To address this issue, Leskinen et al. recruited 16 same sex twin pairs, seven of which were monozygotic and nine dizygotic. Each twin pair was discordant for physical activity with one of the pair showing significantly higher levels of leisure time activity than the other during the 32 year follow up period. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess fat storage within the abdominal and thigh regions. The findings from this study revealed visceral fat to be 50% higher (p = 0.010) in the inactive twin compared to their active sibling with abdominal subcutaneous fat also showing a strong tendency to be higher (25%, p = 0.079) in the inactive twin. Additional analysis revealed an increase of 170% and 54% in liver fat (p = 0.030) and intramuscular fat storage (p = 0.028), respectively, for the inactive twin compared to active. These data suggest that prolonged physical activity is successful in attenuating high risk fat stores, even after controlling for genetic liability, and therefore add further evidence that a physically active lifestyle is a valuable tool in the prevention and management of obesity.
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Full reference for paper:
Leskinen, T., Sipilä, S., Alen, M., Cheng, S., Pietiläinen, K.H., Usenius, J-P., Suominen, H., Kovanen, V., Kainulainen, H., Kaprio, J. and Kujala, U.M. (2009) Leisure-time physical activity and high-risk fat: a longitudinal population-based twin study. International Journal of Obesity; 33, 1211-1218.