Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found a link between ageing, exercise, and fat tissue function. In a study that was published in The Journals of Gerontology, the scientists demonstrated that even though our fatty tissue loses important function with age, a high volume of exercise can have a significant impact for the better.
The study suggests that the function of our fat tissue, or adipose tissue is central to why our bodies decay with age and is strongly linked to human diseases like diabetes 2, cancer, and obesity often develop and fat cells undergo functional changes as we get older. Assistant Professor Anders Gudiksen of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Biology, said, “Overall health is closely linked with how well our fat tissue functions. In the past, we regarded fat as an energy depot. In fact, fat is an organ that interacts with other organs and can optimise metabolic function. Among other things, fat tissue releases substances that affect muscle and brain metabolism when we feel hungry and much more. So, it’s important that fat tissue works the way it should.”
He and his team looked at the role of age and physical training in maintaining fat tissue function. They studied mitochondria, which convert calories from food to supply cells with energy. The researchers compared mitochondrial performance across a range of young and older untrained, moderately trained and highly exercise-trained Danish men.
Gudiksen explained, “Although mitochondrial function decreases with age, we can see that a high level of lifelong exercise exerts a powerful compensatory effect. In the group of well-trained older men, fat cells are able to respire more than twice as much as in untrained older men.” Mitochondrial waste comes in the form of oxygen free radicals, known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).
“The group of older people who train most, form less ROS and maintain functionality to eliminate it. Indeed, their mitochondria are better at managing waste produced in fat cells, which results in less damage. Therefore, exercise has a large effect on maintaining the health of fat tissue, and thereby probably keeping certain diseases at bay as well,” said Gudiksen.
The researchers can also see that the older participants who exercised most throughout life have more mitochondria, allowing for more respiration and, among other things, an ability to release more of the fat-related hormones important for the body's energy balance.
