From now on, workouts could be more personalized than ever. An international team of scientists from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center revealed in a new study that it is possible to select the ideal physical exercises for each person from a blood test.
Some 650 adults, who lead sedentary lives, participated in the research. They were offered to follow a specific sports program for 20 weeks. But, before starting the experiment, they took a blood test looking at certain proteins.
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The scientists evaluated the level of around 5,000 proteins in the blood of the volunteers both before and after the end of the program, which allowed them to reach certain conclusions.
The team identified 147 proteins that can indicate the maximum amount of oxygen the body can absorb, transport, and consume – a marker of cardiorespiratory fitness – before starting the program.
After completing it, 102 proteins were analyzed that show the change in this aspect of the physical performance of the subjects.
Based on this data, the scientists developed the so-called protein score that is used to predict how much human cardiorespiratory performance will change after training.
In this way, the study showed how the profiles of certain proteins in the blood can predict a person’s training capacity.
“While groups in general benefit from exercise, the variability in responses between two individuals undergoing the same training regimen is actually quite surprising,” says study lead author Robert E. Gerszten.
Additionally, the researchers revealed that some of these proteins are linked to a higher risk of premature death, revealing a connection between cardiorespiratory fitness and long-term health.
The work not only sheds new light on how the human body responds to physical activity, but it also paves the way for personalized exercise regimens that could prove much more effective for individuals. Thus, this method helped to select optimal exercises for the participants as long as the sport improved their physical abilities.
“Our study has helped create a roadmap to further explore potential interventions and provides an important step in individualizing exercise as a therapy,” says Gerszten.
At the same time, the researchers said they will dig deeper into this research to increase its reliability and get more data from a larger population.
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The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
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