Exercise helps older adults burn belly fat and lowers a fat-related hormone
Exercise-induced lowering of chemerin is associated with reduced cardiometabolic risk and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in older adults
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When older, obese people exercised hard for 12 weeks, they lost belly fat and their body made less of a hormone called chemerin. Less chemerin was linked to less fat, better cholesterol, and less insulin being released after eating.
Surprising Findings
Chemerin dropped significantly, but improvements in insulin sensitivity (muscle glucose uptake) and liver glucose production did NOT correlate with it.
Most assume fat hormones like chemerin directly control insulin sensitivity. This study shows they’re bystanders in those key improvements—meaning exercise works through multiple, independent pathways.
Practical Takeaways
Do 60 minutes of brisk walking or cycling 5 days a week at a pace where you can talk but not sing (85% HRmax) for 12 weeks to lower chemerin and belly fat.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When older, obese people exercised hard for 12 weeks, they lost belly fat and their body made less of a hormone called chemerin. Less chemerin was linked to less fat, better cholesterol, and less insulin being released after eating.
Surprising Findings
Chemerin dropped significantly, but improvements in insulin sensitivity (muscle glucose uptake) and liver glucose production did NOT correlate with it.
Most assume fat hormones like chemerin directly control insulin sensitivity. This study shows they’re bystanders in those key improvements—meaning exercise works through multiple, independent pathways.
Practical Takeaways
Do 60 minutes of brisk walking or cycling 5 days a week at a pace where you can talk but not sing (85% HRmax) for 12 weeks to lower chemerin and belly fat.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of nutrition, health and aging
Year
2014
Authors
S.K. Malin, S.D. Navaneethan, A. Mulya, H. Huang, John P. Kirwan
Related Content
Claims (6)
Chronic hyperinsulinemia promotes preferential accumulation of visceral adipose tissue, while insulin reduction triggers selective mobilization of visceral fat over subcutaneous fat.
When older, overweight people lose belly fat from exercise, a chemical called chemerin in their blood also drops—so chemerin might be a sign that their fat tissue is getting healthier.
Exercise makes muscles better at using insulin and the liver produce less sugar—but those improvements don’t match up with changes in chemerin levels, meaning chemerin isn’t the main reason exercise helps insulin work better.
When older, overweight people do intense exercise for 12 weeks, a fat-related chemical in their blood called chemerin goes down—and that drop is linked to losing belly fat, better cholesterol numbers, and less insulin being released after eating sugar.
After doing intense exercise for 12 weeks, older overweight people’s pancreases release less insulin right after eating sugar—and that drop matches a drop in a chemical called chemerin, hinting chemerin might tell the pancreas how much insulin to make.