Add a Little Fish Oil

Robert W. Griffith, MD

If you're overweight and exercising and the pounds won't drop off, why not add a fish oil supplement? It might work wonders on your cardiovascular risk factors, according to a new report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Australian researchers found that combining regular aerobic exercise with consuming omega-3 fatty acids (from fish or fish oil supplements) may be more effective than either measure alone in reducing body fat and improving cardiovascular health.

75 overweight volunteers (BMI more than 25) with high blood pressure cholesterol, or triglyceride levels were randomly assigned to either: 6 gm of tuna fish oil daily, fish oil plus exercise, 6 gm of sunflower oil daily, or sunflower oil plus exercise. The exercise prescribed was walking for 45 minutes, 3 days a week, at 75% of maximum heart rate. Results after 12 weeks showed that both fish oil and exercise were independently associated with reduced body fat. The groups taking fish oil supplementation had lower triglycerides, increased HDL-cholesterol levels (the 'good' cholesterol), and improved arterial elasticity, compared with the groups taking sunflower oil.

The study didn't show a synergistic effect of fish oil and exercise - that would be asking too much, although the title of this piece may have suggested it. However, the benefits of fish oil supplements were clear cut, and this approach is well worth considering by overweight people at cardiovascular risk. East fish two or more times a week, or take good-quality fish-oil capsules.

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