Exercise and Taurine Supplementation on Intramuscular Fat in Older Women With Obesity

Aging and obesity are associated with important physiological, metabolic, and functional alterations, including increased intramuscular fat infiltration, also known as myosteatosis. Intramuscular fat infiltration is associated with reduced muscle quality, impaired physical performance, metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality in older adults.

Physical exercise is recognized as an important non-pharmacological strategy to improve muscle function and metabolic health. In addition, taurine supplementation has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and metabolic effects that may contribute to the reduction of intramuscular fat accumulation and improvement of skeletal muscle health.

However, the synergistic effects of concurrent exercise training associated with taurine supplementation on intramuscular fat infiltration and molecular mechanisms involved in older women with obesity are still unclear.

Therefore, this randomized clinical trial aims to investigate the effects of physical exercise associated or not with taurine supplementation on intramuscular fat infiltration, physical performance, body composition, transcriptomic profile, and metabolomic profile in older women with obesity.

Forty women aged 60 to 75 years with obesity (Body mass index - BMI between 30 and 40 kg/m²) will be randomized into four groups:

• Control group;
• Exercise group;
• Taurine supplementation group;
• Exercise plus taurine supplementation group. The intervention will last 16 weeks. Participants allocated to exercise groups will perform supervised concurrent exercise training three times per week, including resistance and aerobic exercises. Participants allocated to taurine groups will receive 3 grams per day taurine supplementation.

Assessments performed before and after the intervention will include magnetic resonance imaging for intramuscular fat evaluation, body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), muscle biopsy, blood biomarkers, indirect calorimetry, functional capacity tests, muscle strength, transcriptomic analysis, and metabolomic analysis.

This study may contribute to the development of innovative non-pharmacological strategies for obesity, aging, and intramuscular fat infiltration management.

Inclusion criteria

• Female,
• 60 and 75 years of age,
• Body mass lower than 120 kg,
• Be sedentary (not having engaged in physical exercise for at least 3 months), and
• Body Mass Index between 30 and 40 kg/m².

Exclusion criteria

• alcohol consumption,
• smoking,
• infectious and contagious diseases,
• chronic kidney diseases,
• undergoing weight loss treatment, and
• presenting a score ≤13 on cognitive screening using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).