Exercise changes the way fat is stored

Rigorous exercise is known as the best way to burn off some excess calories, but it may also bring another advantage – it helps to change the way fat is stored in the first place.

Scientists found that six months of regular exercise, such as cycling or aerobics classes, changed the action of genes involved in the storage of fat and the development of obesity.

The exercise added and removed chemical groups to the DNA in a process known as epigenetic imprinting, or methylation, causing the genes to be switched on or off.

The researchers found more than 7,000 genes were affected in this way as a result of exercise in overweight volunteers.

They also found that key genes involved in storing sugar from blood stream inside fat cells have their activity reduced by the exercise.

Dr Charlotte Ling, a diabetes expert at Lund University in Sweden, said: “Our study shows the positive effects of exercise, because the epigenetic pattern of genes that affect fat storage in the body changes.