Laboratory mice fed a high fat diet and supplemented with eight per cent fish oil gained less weight and metabolised more fat than their murine counterparts not receiving the supplement.
The study adds to an ever-growing list of potential health benefits from the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, identified as one of the super-nutrients taking the food and supplements industry by storm.
Much of its healthy reputation that is seeping into consumer consciousness is based largely on evidence that it can aid cognitive function, may help protect the heart against cardiovascular disease, and could reduce the risk of certain cancers.
The Study:
Lead author Takuya Mori and co-workers from the Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation, Tochigi, fed obesity-prone C57BL/6J mice the diet with 30 per cent of calories from fat for five months, with half the animals supplemented with fish oil (eight per cent). At the end of the study, the researchers reported that the fish oil-supplemented group exhibited increased levels of lipid metabolism-related genes, including carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a, cytochrome P450 4A10, and malic enzyme.
Moreover, fish oil ingestion boosted the activity of enzymes related to metabolism. Specifically, enzymes related to fatty acid beta-oxidation, omega-oxidation, and malic were 1.2-, 1.6-, and 1.7-fold higher in the fish oil-supplemented diet, compared to those only receiving the high fat diet.
"These findings suggest that an up-regulation of intestinal lipid metabolism is associated with the anti-obesity effect of FO," wrote the researchers.
Back in May 2007, Australian researchers reported that a combination of fish oil supplements and exercise led to reductions in fat mass by about 1.5 kg, as well as improving heart health markers.
The researchers, from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, studied 75 overweight adults (age range 25-65). They reported that subjects who received daily fish oil supplements (260 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 60 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)) exhibitred decreased blood triacylglycerols levels (14 per cent) and increased plasma HDL cholesterol levels (10 per cent) relative to baseline amounts.
"The present study is the first properly controlled trial to show an improvement in body composition in overweight or obese subjects after intervention with omega-3 fatty acids and regular aerobic exercise," wrote lead author Alison Hill in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The combination of fish oil and exercise reduced fat mass by 1.6 kg, with no significant changes observed for fish oil alone, or placebo with or without exercise. No significant change in lean mass was observed for any of the groups.
"We have confirmed the independent benefits of supplementation with DHA-rich fish oil for triacylglycerols, [and] HDL cholesterol," said the researchers. "We also showed that both fish oil supplementation and regular moderate exercise reduced body fat in overweight or obese subjects who were at risk of CVD."Moreover, researchers from the University of Georgia reported in November 2006 that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA could affect adoptosis (programmed cell death) and significantly decrease the accumulation of fat in the preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner and the development (differentiation) of mature adipocytes in culture (Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136, pp. 2965-2969).
Source: Journal of Nutrition, December 2007, Volume 137, Pages 2629-2634, "Dietary Fish Oil Upregulates Intestinal Lipid Metabolism and Reduces Body Weight Gain in C57BL/6J Mice", Authors: Takuya Mori, H. Kondo, T. Hase, I. Tokimitsu, T. Murase
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 85, Pages 1267-1274, "Combining fish-oil supplements with regular aerobic exercise improves body composition and cardiovascular disease risk factors", Authors: A.M. Hill, J.D. Buckley, K.J. Murphy, P.R.C. Howe
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