Abstract
Critical among the changes that occur with aging are decreases in muscle mass and metabolic rate and an increase in fat mass. These changes may predispose older adults to chronic disease and functional impairment; ultimately resulting in a decrease in the quality of life. Research has suggested that long chain omega-3 fatty acids, found predominantly in fatty fish, may assist in reducing these changes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of fish oil (FO) supplementation in a cohort of healthy, community-dwelling older females on 1) metabolic rate and substrate oxidation at rest and during exercise; 2) resting blood pressure and resting and exercise heart rates; 3) body composition; 4) strength and physical function, and; 5) blood measures of insulin, glucose, c-reactive protein, and triglycerides. Twenty-four females (66 ± 1 yr) were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either 3g/d of EPA and DHA or a placebo (PL, olive oil) for 12 wk. Exercise measurements were taken before and after 12 wk of supplementation and resting metabolic measures were made before and at 6 and 12 wk of supplementation. The results demonstrated that FO supplementation significantly increased resting metabolic rate by 14%, energy expenditure during exercise by 10%, and the rate of fat oxidation during rest by 19% and during exercise by 27%. In addition, FO consumption lowered triglyceride levels by 29% and increased lean mass by 4% and functional capacity by 7%, while no changes occurred in the PL group. In conclusion, FO may be a strategy to improve age-related physical and metabolic changes in healthy older females. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01734538.
Highlights
The proportion of seniors in Canada is predicted to increase from 13% of the total population in 2005 to 25% in 2036 [1]
The participant data indicated that the cohort was generally in good health, the body composition data denoted that the cohort was overweight (Table 1)
The mean Fat free mass index (FFMI) values indicated that the participants had healthy amounts of skeletal muscle
Summary
The proportion of seniors in Canada is predicted to increase from 13% of the total population in 2005 to 25% in 2036 [1]. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Metabolic Rate including increases in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and fat mass (FM), and decreases in resting metabolic rate (RMR), lean body mass (LM), and physical function [2, 3]. These changes predispose older adults to age-related diseases and functional impairment, resulting in an overall decrease in the quality of life (QOL). The American Heart Association (AHA) and Health Canada (HC) recommend that adults consume 500 mg/d of EPA and DHA (~2 servings/wk or ~8 oz of fish/wk) [7, 8]. Research in our laboratory observed low intakes of O3FAs in affluent populations (~230 mg/d), despite selecting healthier foods [10]
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