A small workout along with a few capsules of fish oil might help people in shedding body fat. Previous studies have shown that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish may benefit the heart, by lowering blood pressure and triglycerides, reducing the risk of blood clots and improving blood vessel function. There's also evidence from lab studies that fish oil affects metabolism in a way that can reduce body fat, but the little research that has been done in humans has yielded conflicting results. Researchers from the University of South Australia in Adelaide conducted a study on overweight adults and found that a combination of exercise and fish oil supplements was effective at reducing body fat and improving lipid profile and blood vessel function. The researchers randomly assigned 75 overweight adults to one of four groups: one that took 6 grams of fish oil per day; one that consumed fish oil and walked for 45 minutes three days per week; one that consumed pills containing sunflower oil; and a fourth that combined sunflower oil and walking. After 12 weeks, it was found that volunteers who were taking fish oil showed greater improvements in their lipid profile and blood vessel function than those who took sunflower oil. Exercise and fish oil each helped reduce body fat. Study participants who took fish oil, alone or with exercise, saw their levels of "good" HDL cholesterol go up, while their triglycerides (an unhealthy form of blood fat) took a dip. Meanwhile, both exercise and fish oil seemed to cut body fat. The overall benefits, suggest that a combination of exercise and fish oil may improve overweight adults' cardiovascular health. Increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids could be a useful adjunct to exercise programs aimed at improving body composition and decreasing cardiovascular disease risk. However, more research is needed to investigate the long-term effects.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
May 2007