Metabolomic profile of combined healthy lifestyle behaviours in humans: A systematic review

Abstract

A combination of healthy lifestyle behaviours (i.e., regular physical activity, nutritious diet, no smoking, moderate alcohol, and healthy body mass) has been consistently associated with beneficial health outcomes including reduced risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Metabolomic profiles, characterized by distinct sets of biomarkers, have been described for healthy lifestyle behaviours individually and in combination. However, recent literature calls for systematic evaluation of these heterogenous data to identify potential clinical biomarkers relating to a combined healthy lifestyle. The objective was to systematically review existing literature on the metabolomic profile of combined healthy lifestyle behaviours. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched through March 2022. Studies in humans outlining the metabolomic profile of a combination of two or more healthy lifestyle behaviours were included. Collectively, the metabolomic profile following regular adherence to combined healthy lifestyle behaviours points to a positive association with beneficial fatty acids and phosphocreatine, and inverse associations with triglycerides, trimethylamine N-oxide, and acylcarnitines. The findings suggest that a unique metabolomic profile is associated with combined healthy lifestyle behaviours. Additional research is warranted to further describe this metabolomic profile using targeted and untargeted metabolomic approaches along with uniform definitions of combined healthy lifestyle variables across populations.