Telomere Length Is Correlated with Resting Metabolic Rate and Aerobic Capacity in Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study investigated the associations between relative telomere length (RTL) and resting metabolic rate (RMR), resting fat oxidation (RFO), and aerobic capacity and whether oxidative stress and inflammation are the underlying mechanisms in sedentary women. We also aimed to determine whether the correlations depend on age and obesity. Sixty-eight normal weight and 66 obese women participated in this study. After adjustment for age, energy expenditure, energy intake, and education level, the RTL of all participants was negatively correlated with absolute RMR (RMRAB) and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentration, and positively correlated with maximum oxygen consumption (V˙O2max) (all p p V˙O2max (mL/kg FFM/min). We found that normal weight women had longer RTL than obese women (p AB and positively correlated with aerobic capacity, possibly via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Furthermore, age and obesity influenced the associations. We provide useful information for the management of promotion strategies for health-related physical fitness in women.

Keywords

• telomere length
• metabolism
• maximum oxygen consumption
• vitamin C
• high-sensitivity C-reactive protein