Resistance training improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in elderly offspring of overweight and obese mothers

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis Maternal obesity predisposes offspring to adulthood morbidities, including type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance have been associated with shortened telomere length. First, we aimed to investigate whether or not maternal obesity influences insulin sensitivity and its relationship with leucocyte telomere length (LTL) in elderly women. Second, we tested whether or not resistance exercise training improves insulin sensitivity in elderly frail women. Methods Forty-six elderly women, of whom 20 were frail offspring of lean/normal weight mothers (OLM, BMI ≤26.3 kg/m 2 ) and 17 were frail offspring of overweight/ obese mothers (OOM, BMI ≥28.1 kg/m 2 ), were studied before and after a 4 month resistance training (RT) intervention. Muscle insulin sensitivity of glucose uptake was measured using 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose and positron emission tomography with computed tomography during a hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp. Muscle mass and lipid content were measured using magnetic resonance and LTL was measured using real-time PCR. Results The OOM group had lower thigh muscle insulin sensitivity compared with the OLM group (p=0.048) but similar whole body insulin sensitivity. RT improved whole body and skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in the OOM group only (p=0.004 and p=0.013, respectively), and increased muscle mass in both groups (p<0.01). In addition, in the OOM group, LTL correlated with different thigh muscle groups insulin sensitivity (ρ ≥ 0.53; p ≤ 0.05). Individuals with shorter LTL showed a higher increase in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity after training (ρ≥−0.61; p≤0.05). Conclusions/interpretation Maternal obesity and having telomere shortening were associated with insulin resistance in adult offspring. A resistance exercise training programme may reverse this disadvantage among offspring of obese mothers. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01931540Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

Circulating Docosahexaenoic Acid Associates with Insulin-Dependent Skeletal Muscle and Whole Body Glucose Uptake in Older Women Born from Normal Weight Mothers

“…* P < 0.001. These data were published in [11], but the BMI values of the mothers has not been published. Table 2.…”

“…This study was derived from a completed investigation of a European Union-funded programme called the Developmental ORIgins of healthy and unhealthy AgeiNg (DORIAN) [11,12] and is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT01931540. It aimed to quantify how elderly offspring are affected by maternal frailty and degree of adiposity.…”

“…Positron emission tomography and computerized tomography analyses were performed as described in reference [11]. Briefly, the PET/CT study was performed after an overnight fast (12 h).…”

“…Because the female offspring of obese mothers have significant skeletal muscle insulin resistance [11], we hypothesized that there should be a corresponding difference in circulating metabolites, and these affected metabolites could be associated with tissue-specific insulin resistance.…”

Maternal obesity legacy: exercise it away!

“…In the current issue of Diabetologia, Bucci and colleagues [10] report on whether maternal obesity affects glucose metabolism of the offspring in later life. Specifically, they investigated whether the deleterious effects of obesity during a period of intrauterine development can be reversed in late adult life by exercise training.…”