Systematic review of the effects of exercise and physical activity on the gut microbiome of older adults

Ramos, C., Gibson, G. R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0566-0476, Walton, G. E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5426-5635, Magistro, D., Kinnear, W. and Hunter, K. (2022) Systematic review of the effects of exercise and physical activity on the gut microbiome of older adults. Nutrients, 14 (3). 674. ISSN 2072-6643 doi: 10.3390/nu14030674

Abstract/Summary

Recent evidence suggests that exercise/physical activity (PA) can beneficially alter the gut microbiome composition of young people, but little is known about its effects in older adults. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize results of human studies that have assessed the effects/associations of PA/exercise on the gut microbiome of older adults and to better understand whether this can help promote healthy ageing. Seven studies were included in the review and overall, exercise and increased amounts of PA were associated with decreases in the abundance of several well-known harmful taxa and increases in the abundance of health-promoting taxa. Altogether, the findings from the included studies suggest that exercise/PA have a beneficial impact on the gut health of older adults by improving the gut microbiome composition. However, due to methodological and sampling disparities, it was not possible to reach a consensus on which taxa were most affected by exercise or PA.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/103948
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/nu14030674
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Microbial Sciences Research Group
Publisher	MDPI
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