The Impact of Physical Activity on Gut Microbiota: An In-Depth Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2024.16.52210Keywords
gut microbiota, guts, physical activity, sport, microbiomeAbstract
Introduction. The human body is home to a diverse community of microorganisms known as the microbiota. These microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, play crucial roles in maintaining overall health. They colonize the digestive tract shortly after birth, and the composition of the gut microbiota changes throughout an individual's life, largely influenced by diet and physical activity. Breastfeeding has long-term beneficial effects on the gut microbiota and gene expression in intestinal cells. Regular exercise not only improves cardiovascular and respiratory health but also affects metabolic, immunological, neural, and microbial pathways. This review explores how diet and physical activity impact the composition and diversity of gut microbiota, highlighting important findings and their implications for health.
Aim of study. This study aims to review how physical activity influences gut microbiota, investigating the effects of different types and intensities of exercise on microbial composition and diversity, and their implications for overall health.
Materials and methods. A non-systematic examination of the scientific literature was conducted using specific keywords such as gut microbiota, physical activity, sport, and microbiome. The examination took place on PubMed, with scrutiny of a total of 31 references published up to 2023.
Conclusions. This review highlights the crucial role of gut microbiota in maintaining good health and its complex interaction with diet and physical activity. Regular exercise has a positive impact on the diversity of microbiota, especially when started at a young age. Imbalance in gut bacteria is linked to various diseases, underscoring the significance of a healthy microbiome. Encouraging physical activity and a nutritious diet can improve gut health, and more research is needed to understand the mechanisms and potential health indicators involved.
References
Biasucci, G., Benenati, B., Morelli, L., Bessi, E., & Boehm, G. (2008). Cesarean Delivery May Affect the Early Biodiversity of Intestinal Bacteria1,. The Journal of Nutrition, 138(9), 1796S-1800S. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/138.9.1796S
David, L. A., Maurice, C. F., Carmody, R. N., Gootenberg, D. B., Button, J. E., Wolfe, B. E., Ling, A. V., Devlin, A. S., Varma, Y., Fischbach, M. A., Biddinger, S. B., Dutton, R. J., & Turnbaugh, P. J. (2013). Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature, 505(7484), 559. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12820
Turnbaugh PJ, Hamady M, Yatsunenko T, Cantarel BL, Duncan A, Ley RE, Sogin ML, Jones WJ, Roe BA, Affourtit JP, Egholm M, Henrissat B, Heath AC, Knight R, Gordon JI. A core gut microbiome in obese and lean twins. Nature. 2009 Jan 22;457(7228):480-4. doi: 10.1038/nature07540. Epub 2008 Nov 30. PMID: 19043404; PMCID: PMC2677729.
Rogier EW, Frantz AL, Bruno ME, Wedlund L, Cohen DA, Stromberg AJ, Kaetzel CS. Secretory antibodies in breast milk promote long-term intestinal homeostasis by regulating the gut microbiota and host gene expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Feb 25;111(8):3074-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1315792111. Epub 2014 Feb 3. PMID: 24569806; PMCID: PMC3939878.
Cronin, Owen; Molloy, Michael G.; Shanahan, Fergus. Exercise, fitness, and the gut. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology 32(2):p 67-73, March 2016. | DOI: 10.1097/MOG.0000000000000240
Queipo-Ortuño, M. I., Seoane, L. M., Murri, M., Pardo, M., Gomez-Zumaquero, J. M., Cardona, F., Casanueva, F., & Tinahones, F. J. (2013). Gut Microbiota Composition in Male Rat Models under Different Nutritional Status and Physical Activity and Its Association with Serum Leptin and Ghrelin Levels. PLoS ONE, 8(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065465
Petriz, B. A., Castro, A. P., Almeida, J. A., Gomes, C. P., Fernandes, G. R., Kruger, R. H., Pereira, R. W., & Franco, O. L. (2014). Exercise induction of gut microbiota modifications in obese, non-obese and hypertensive rats. BMC Genomics, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-15-511
Mika, A., Treuren, W. V., González, A., Herrera, J. J., Knight, R., & Fleshner, M. (2015). Exercise Is More Effective at Altering Gut Microbial Composition and Producing Stable Changes in Lean Mass in Juvenile versus Adult Male F344 Rats. PLoS ONE, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125889
Pant, A., Maiti, T. K., Mahajan, D., & Das, B. Human Gut Microbiota and Drug Metabolism. Microbial Ecology, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-022-02081-x
Koppel, N., Rekdal, V. M., & Balskus, E. P. (2018). Chemical transformation of xenobiotics by the human gut microbiota. Science (New York, N.y.), 356(6344). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aag2770
Yan, F., LaMarre, J. M., Röhrich, R., Wiesner, J., Jomaa, H., Mankin, A. S., & Fujimori, D. G. (2010). RlmN and Cfr are Radical SAM Enzymes Involved in Methylation of Ribosomal RNA. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 132(11), 3953. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja910850y
(1990). Localization of gamma/delta T cells to the intestinal epithelium is independent of normal microbial colonization. The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 172(1), 239-244. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.172.1.239
Hooper LV, Stappenbeck TS, Hong CV, Gordon JI. Angiogenins: a new class of microbicidal proteins involved in innate immunity. Nat Immunol. 2003 Mar;4(3):269-73. doi: 10.1038/ni888. Epub 2003 Jan 27. PMID: 12548285.
Ostman S, Rask C, Wold AE, Hultkrantz S, Telemo E. Impaired regulatory T cell function in germ-free mice. Eur J Immunol. 2006 Sep;36(9):2336-46. doi: 10.1002/eji.200535244. PMID: 16897813.
McDermott, A. J., & Huffnagle, G. B. (2014). The microbiome and regulation of mucosal immunity. Immunology, 142(1), 24-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/imm.12231
Allen, L. H., Miller, J. W., De Groot, L., Rosenberg, I. H., Smith, A. D., Refsum, H., & Raiten, D. J. (2018). Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND): Vitamin B-12 Review. The Journal of Nutrition, 148, 1995S-2027S. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy201
Degnan, P. H., Taga, M. E., & Goodman, A. L. (2014). Vitamin B12 as a Modulator of Gut Microbial Ecology. Cell Metabolism, 20(5), 769-778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2014.10.002
Degnan, P. H., Barry, N. A., Mok, K. C., Taga, M. E., & Goodman, A. L. (2014). Human Gut Microbes Use Multiple Transporters to Distinguish Vitamin B12 Analogs and Compete in the Gut. Cell Host & Microbe, 15(1), 47-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2013.12.007
Veltkamp, C., Tonkonogy, S. L., De Jong, Y. P., Albright, C., Grenther, W. B., Balish, E., Terhorst, C., & Sartor, R. (2001). Continuous stimulation by normal luminal bacteria is essential for the development and perpetuation of colitis in Tgϵ26 mice. Gastroenterology, 120(4), 900-913. https://doi.org/10.1053/gast.2001.22547
Zheng, J., Sun, Q., Zhang, J., & Ng, S. C. (2022). The role of gut microbiome in inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis and prognosis. United European Gastroenterology Journal, 10(10), 1091-1102. https://doi.org/10.1002/ueg2.12338
Sohail, M. U., Yassine, H. M., Sohail, A., & Al Thani, A. A. (2019). Impact of Physical Exercise on Gut Microbiome, Inflammation, and the Pathobiology of Metabolic Disorders. The Review of Diabetic Studies : RDS, 15, 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1900/RDS.2019.15.35
Butler, M. I., Mörkl, S., Sandhu, K. V., Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2019). The Gut Microbiome and Mental Health: What Should We Tell Our Patients?: Le microbiote Intestinal et la Santé Mentale : Que Devrions-Nous dire à nos Patients? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 64(11), 747-760. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743719874168
Clarke, S. F., Murphy, E. F., O'Sullivan, O., Lucey, A. J., Humphreys, M., Hogan, A., Hayes, P., O'Reilly, M., Jeffery, I. B., Wood-Martin, R., Kerins, D. M., Quigley, E., Ross, R. P., O'Toole, P. W., Molloy, M. G., Falvey, E., Shanahan, F., & Cotter, P. D. (2014). Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity. Gut, 63(12), 1913-1920. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306541
Scheiman, J.; Luber, J.M.; Chavkin, T.A.; MacDonald, T.; Tung, A.; Pham, L.-D.; Wibowo, M.C.; Wurth, R.C.; Punthambaker, S.; Tierney, B.T.; et al. Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that functions via lactate metabolism. Nat. Med. 2019, 25, 1104–1109, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0485-4
Ortiz-Alvarez L, Xu H, Martinez-Tellez B. Influence of Exercise on the Human Gut Microbiota of Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2020 Feb;11(2):e00126. doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000126. PMID: 32463624; PMCID: PMC7145029
ALLEN, JACOB M.1; MAILING, LUCY J.2; NIEMIRO, GRACE M.1; MOORE, RACHEL1; COOK, MARC D.3; WHITE, BRYAN A.4; HOLSCHER, HANNAH D.1,2,5; WOODS, JEFFREY A.1,2. Exercise Alters Gut Microbiota Composition and Function in Lean and Obese Humans. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 50(4):p 747-757, April 2018. | DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001495
Jang LG, Choi G, Kim SW, Kim BY, Lee S, Park H. The combination of sport and sport-specific diet is associated with characteristics of gut microbiota: an observational study. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2019 May 3;16(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s12970-019-0290-y. PMID: 31053143; PMCID: PMC6500072
Mika A, Van Treuren W, González A, Herrera JJ, Knight R, et al. (2015) Exercise Is More Effective at Altering Gut Microbial Composition and Producing Stable Changes in Lean Mass in Juvenile versus Adult Male F344 Rats. PLOS ONE 10(5): e0125889. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125889
Zhao X, Zhang Z, Hu B, Huang W, Yuan C, Zou L. Response of Gut Microbiota to Metabolite Changes Induced by Endurance Exercise. Front Microbiol. 2018 Apr 20;9:765. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00765. PMID: 29731746; PMCID: PMC5920010
Bressa C, Bailén-Andrino M, Pérez-Santiago J, González-Soltero R, Pérez M, et al. (2017) Differences in gut microbiota profile between women with active lifestyle and sedentary women. PLOS ONE 12(2): e0171352. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171352
Welly RJ, Liu TW, Zidon TM, Rowles JL 3rd, Park YM, Smith TN, Swanson KS, Padilla J, Vieira-Potter VJ. Comparison of Diet versus Exercise on Metabolic Function and Gut Microbiota in Obese Rats. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016 Sep;48(9):1688-98. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000964. PMID: 27128671; PMCID: PMC4987217
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Karolina Alicja Palacz, Iwona Lenartowicz, Patrycja Brzozowska, Agata Frańczuk, Bianka Nowińska, Aleksandra Makłowicz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 141
Number of citations: 0
