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The Influence of Different Physical Activity Behaviours on the Gut Microbiota of Older Irish Adults

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objective

A 24-hour day is made up of time spent in a range of physical activity (PA) behaviours, including sleep, sedentary time, standing, light-intensity PA (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), all of which may have the potential to alter an individual’s health through various different pathways and mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PA behaviours and the gut microbiome in older adults.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Settings and Participants

Participants (n=100; age 69.0 [3.0] years; 44% female) from the Mitchelstown Cohort Rescreen (MCR) Study (2015–2017).

Methods

Participants provided measures of gut microbiome composition (profiled by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons), and objective measures of PA behaviours (by a 7-day wear protocol using an activPAL3 Micro).

Results

Standing time was positively correlated with the abundance of butyrate-producing and anti-inflammatory bacteria, including Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Bifidobacterium, MVPA was positively associated with the abundance of Lachnospiraceae bacteria, while sedentary time was associated with lower abundance of Ruminococcaceae and higher abundance of Streptococcus spp.

Conclusion

Physical activity behaviours appear to influence gut microbiota composition in older adults, with different PA behaviours having diverging effects on gut microbiota composition.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the MCR Study participants, the LivingHealth Clinic staff, and the Mitchelstown Research Team. This research study was funded by a research grant from the Irish Health Research Board (reference: HRC/2007/2013) and the University of Limerick’s Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences Postgraduate Scholarship Programme (2013–2017).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors have contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China

    X. Zhong

  2. School of Microbiology and APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    X. Zhong & P. W. O’Toole

  3. Performance Department, Swim Ireland, Irish Sport HQ, Sport Ireland Campus, Dublin, Ireland

    C. Powell

  4. Physical Activity for Health Cluster, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    C. Powell, B. P. Carson &  Alan E. Donnelly

  5. School of Public Health, Physiotherapy, and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland

    C. M. Phillips

  6. HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research, School of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    C. M. Phillips, S. R. Millar, I. J. Perry, P. M. Kearney & J. M. Harrington

  7. Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    B. P. Carson &  Alan E. Donnelly

  8. Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    B. P. Carson &  Alan E. Donnelly

  9. Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Athlone Institute of Technology, Westmeath, Athlone, Ireland

    K. P. Dowd

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  1. X. Zhong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan E. Donnelly.

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Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to declare.

Ethical standards: All participants provided written informed consent, prior to taking part in the research study. Participants also consented to their data being used for future publications.

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Zhong, X., Powell, C., Phillips, C.M. et al. The Influence of Different Physical Activity Behaviours on the Gut Microbiota of Older Irish Adults. J Nutr Health Aging 25, 854–861 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-021-1630-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-021-1630-6

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