Abstract
When humans age, changes in body composition arise along with lifestyle‐associated disorders influencing fitness and physical decline. Here we provide a comprehensive view of dietary intake, physical activity, gut microbiota (GM), and host metabolome in relation to physical fitness of 207 community‐dwelling subjects aged +65 years. Stratification on anthropometric/body composition/physical performance measurements (ABPm) variables identified two phenotypes (high/low‐fitness) clearly linked to dietary intake, physical activity, GM, and host metabolome patterns. Strikingly, despite a higher energy intake high‐fitness subjects were characterized by leaner bodies and lower fasting proinsulin‐C‐peptide/blood glucose levels in a mechanism likely driven by higher dietary fiber intake, physical activity and increased abundance of Bifidobacteriales and Clostridiales species in GM and associated metabolites (i.e., enterolactone). These factors explained 50.1% of the individual variation in physical fitness. We propose that targeting dietary strategies for modulation of GM and host metabolome interactions may allow establishing therapeutic approaches to delay and possibly revert comorbidities of aging.
Highlights
Throughout the course of aging, physical impairment and changes in body composition may arise along with a number of lifestyle-associated disorders influencing physical decline and frailty (Holm et al, 2014; Xue, 2011)
Despite a higher energy intake high-fitness subjects were characterized by leaner bodies and lower fasting proinsulin-C-peptide/blood glucose levels in a mechanism likely driven by higher dietary fiber intake, physical activity and increased abundance of Bifidobacteriales and Clostridiales species in gut microbiota (GM) and associated metabolites
Our findings demonstrate that physical fitness and function corresponded to signatures of fasting proinsulin and average blood glucose, and characterized by clear differences in energy and dietary fiber intake, daily physical activity as well as differential abundance of GM members and a number of fecal and plasma metabolites
Summary
Throughout the course of aging, physical impairment and changes in body composition may arise along with a number of lifestyle-associated disorders influencing physical decline and frailty (Holm et al, 2014; Xue, 2011). Low abundance of these bacteria leads to increased leakage of pro-inflammatory epitopes from the gut to the bloodstream (due to leaky gut syndrome) activating monocytes inflammation and subsequently impair insulin signaling in rodents (Bodogai et al, 2018) It is well-established, that frail older adults are characterized by changed dietary habits and altered GM and metabolic signatures relative to nonfrail peers (Claesson et al, 2012; Lustgarten, Price, Chalé, & Fielding, 2014), but whether similar signatures can be identified among nonfrail older adults of different physical capacity has, to the best of our knowledge, not been investigated previously. Identifying key components of such multifactorial processes may open opportunities to therapeutically address and possibly treat and prevent the comorbidities of aging (Khan et al, 2017) Based on this framework, we characterized dietary intake, daily physical activity, GM, and host metabolome in order to be able to explain physical fitness of nonfrail older subjects. Our findings demonstrate that physical fitness and function corresponded to signatures of fasting proinsulin and average blood glucose, and characterized by clear differences in energy and dietary fiber intake, daily physical activity as well as differential abundance of GM members and a number of fecal and plasma metabolites
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