title: The effect of intensive endurance exercise training on body fat distribution in young and older men.
abstract: Little is known about the effects of exercise interventions on the distribution of central and/or intra-abdominal (IA) fat, and until now there were no studies in the elderly. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effects of an intensive 6-month endurance training program on overall body composition (hydrostatic weighing), fat distribution (body circumferences), and specific fat depots (computed tomography [CT]), in healthy young (n = 13; age, 28.2 +/- 2.4 years) and older (n = 15; age, 67.5 +/- 5.8 years) men. At baseline, overall body composition was similar in the two groups, except for a 9% smaller fat free mass in the older men (P less than .05). The thigh and arm circumferences were smaller (P = .001 and P less than .05, respectively), while the waist to hip ratio (WHR) was slightly greater in the older men (0.92 +/- 0.04 v 0.97 +/- 0.04, P less than .01). Compared with the relatively small baseline differences in body composition and circumferences, CT showed the older men to have a twofold greater IA fat depot (P less than .001), 48% less thigh subcutaneous (SC) fat (P less than .01), and 21% less thigh muscle mass (P less than .001). Following endurance (jog/bike) training, both the young (+18%, P less than .001) and the older men (+22%, P less than .001) significantly increased their maximal aerobic power (VO2max). This was associated with small but significant decrements in weight, percent body fat, and fat mass (all P less than .001) only in the older men.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Shuman
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Cain
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Fellingham
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Stratton
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cerqueira
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Abrass
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000097:blood; D006615:Hip; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010807:Physical Endurance
chemical_list: D009638:Norepinephrine; D004837:Epinephrine