Impact of Exercise on Gut Microbiota in Obesity

Julio Plaza-Diaz is part of the “UGR Plan Propio de Investigación 2016” and the “Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES), University of Granada”. Patricio Solis-Urra was supported by a fellowship from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) BECAS Chile/72180543. Julio Plaza-Diaz is supported by a fellowship awarded to postdoctoral researchers at foreign universities and research centers from the “Fundación Ramón Areces”, Madrid, Spain. Jerónimo Aragón-Vela was funded by a Postdoctoral fellowship from the ‘Fundación Alfonso Martín Escudero’ (Spain). Francisco Javier Ruiz-Ojeda is supported by a fellowship from Spanish Government “Agencia Estatal de Investigación-Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” program (IJC2020-042739-I). We are grateful to Belén Vázquez-González for her assistance with the illustration service.
Physical activity, exercise, or physical fitness are being studied as helpful nonpharmacological therapies to reduce signaling pathways related to inflammation. Studies describing changes in intestinal microbiota have stated that physical activity could increase the microbial variance and enhance the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, and both actions could neutralize the obesity progression and diminish body weight. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the literature describing the relationship between physical activity profiles and gut microbiota and in obesity and some associated comorbidities. Promoting physical activity could support as a treatment to maintain the gut microbiota composition or to restore the balance toward an improvement of dysbiosis in obesity; however, these mechanisms need to be studied in more detail. The opportunity to control the microbiota by physical activity to improve health results and decrease obesity and related comorbidities is very attractive. Nevertheless, several incompletely answered questions need to be addressed before this strategy can be implemented.
ANID BECAS Chile/72180543
Agencia Estatal de Investigación-Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación
National Agency for Research and Development
University of Granada
Fundación Alfonso Martín Escudero
Fundación Ramón Areces
Agencia Estatal de Investigación IJC2020-042739-I