2018_10_01_FAR_obelex

"Four out of ten Spanish adults are overweight or obese and the prevalence increases as they get older". This is the warning of María Jesús Moreno, one of those responsible for the Obelex study, promoted by the research center in Nutrition and the department of Food Science and Physiology of the University of Navarra.

The project -in which specialists from the academic center, IdiSNA and the Center of programs of study, research and Sports Medicine of the Government of Navarra participate- requires women volunteers aged 55 to 70 years with overweight or obesity to perform a nutritional intervention to confirm whether, through the combination of a per diem expenses supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids and the internship of strength exercise, postmenopausal women can reduce their body fat and improve their health.

Those interested in participating in the study can contact contact with those responsible by e-mail at obelex@unav.es or by telephone at 616 24 46 55.

As the expert, Professor of Physiology at School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, points out, "the menopausal stage is associated with changes in the body that favor the accumulation of fat and loss of muscle mass. This fact explains that in this group population there is a higher prevalence or susceptibility to development of overweight or obesity". "In addition," he adds, "the accumulation of body fat, especially at the visceral level, is associated with a higher development of inflammation and metabolic complications, such as insulin resistance and diabetes subject 2."

per diem expenses and exercise: keys to healthy aging

The study has a duration of sixteen weeks, during which the volunteers receive dietary committee and supplementation with omega-3 or olive oil, under the follow-up of dieticians-nutritionists. In addition, some of the volunteers will carry out a program of strength physical exercise two days a week, personalized and under medical supervision, for which Dr. Javier Ibáñez, from the Center of programs of study, research and Sports Medicine of the Government of Navarra, will be available at partnership .

Elisa Félix, a researcher at research center in Nutrition who also coordinates the study, insists in this sense that the internship regular physical exercise "prevents both the accumulation of fat and the loss of muscle mass in aging, especially relevant in the case of women due to menopause". He also adds that regular exercise brings benefits in practically all the functions of the organism: "It improves muscular and skeletal function, increases respiratory capacity, favors the functioning of the heart, reduces cardiovascular risk, improves immune response, etc.".

In addition to this recommendation, in the opinion of the experts, there is the second major premise for healthy aging: following a healthy per diem expenses . "The preliminary results of this project -which we have been developing since last year- indicate that, together with regular exercise internship , the intake of healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids, with anti-inflammatory properties and which could help to prevent metabolic complications associated with obesity and aging, is fundamental", concluded Dr. Silvia Lorente and Dr. María Jesús Moreno, coordinators of the study.

The project Obelex is funded by the Programa Estatal de research and development+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad of the Agencia Estatal de research, as a strategic study to understand the mechanisms underlying inflammation associated with obesity and aging. Also, some of its researchers are part of the research center Biomedical network of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition(CIBERobn).