The effects of aerobic exercise on metabolic risk, insulin sensitivity and intrahepatic lipid in healthy older people from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study: a randomised controlled trial.

Description

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise in healthy older people. Participants from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study were randomly assigned to 36 supervised 1-hour sessions on a cycle ergometer over 12 weeks or to a non-intervention control group. The primary outcome was a composite metabolic risk score measured at follow-up. No changes were observed in the primary endpoint, but significant improvements in weight, body mass index, waist circumference and intrahepatic lipid were found. This study is the first to report that aerobic exercise can reduce liver fat in humans. These results suggest that supervised aerobic exercise in healthy older people is safe and can improve fitness and some metabolic outcomes.