Smaller differences in total and regional adiposity with age in women who regularly perform endurance exercise. Journal Article

Overview

Our aim was to determine if women who regularly perform endurance exercise demonstrate age-related elevations in body mass and adiposity. Ninety-five healthy females were studied: premenopausal (n = 28; mean +/- SE age 30 +/- 1 yr) and postmenopausal (n = 31; 56 +/- 1 yr) endurance-trained runners and premenopausal (n = 17; 29 +/- 1 yr) and postmenopausal (n = 19; 61 +/- 1 yr) sedentary controls. In the runners, body mass did not differ across age, but percent fat and fat mass were higher (P < 0.05) in the postmenopausal women. The age-related difference in total body fat, however, was only approximately 50% as great (P < 0.01) as that observed in the sedentary controls due in part to smaller age-related differences in central (truncal) fat. The higher fat mass in the postmenopausal runners was modestly (inversely) related to both exercise volume (r = -0.44, P < 0.01) and maximal oxygen consumption (r = -0.41, P < 0.01). The present findings provide experimental support for the hypothesis that women who regularly engage in vigorous endurance exercise may not gain body weight, undergo only a modest increase in total body fat, and do not demonstrate a significant elevation in central adiposity with age.