Table 3.
Main findings related to gut microbiota variability and composition in active subjects compared to inactive controls from the selected studies.
| Author, Country, Year |
Variability | Firmicutes | Bacteroidetes | Actinobacteria | Proteobacteria | Akkermansia | Synthesis of the Results in Relation with Diet | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bressa, Spain, 2017 | ↔ alpha diversity, beta diversity | ↑* | ↓* Barnesiellaceae ↓ Odoribacteraceae |
/ | / | ↑* | Dairy products and cereals were, respectively, positively and negatively related to the abundance of Turicibacter; proteins were negatively related to Bifidobacterium abundance; diet lipids were positively associated with Odoribacter and negatively related to Ruminococcaceae; the inverse correlation between fat intake and muscle parameters, and between fiber intake and body fat composition, prevented multiple regression analysis of dietary factors and exercise-related factors together because of collinearity problems. | [32] |
| Cronin, Ireland, 2018 | ↑ Shannon index ↔ alpha diversity |
/ | / | / | / | After the intervention period, bacterial diversity was greater in the exercise–protein-supplementation group than in the protein-supplementation-only group, while the diversity of virus species was lower in the exercise–protein-supplementation group and in the protein-supplementation-only group than in the exercise-only group. | [34] | |
| Gallè, Italy, 2020 | ↔ Shannon index ↑* beta diversity |
↓* Megasphaera ↓* Lachnobacterium ↓* Dialister |
↓* Paraprevotella | / | / | / | Nor PA level nor diet were significantly associated with the Shannon index and with the F/B ratio. | [35] |
| Manor, USA, 2020 |
↑* Shannon index | ↑* Ruminococcaceae
↑* Clostridiales ↑* Veillonella ↑* Lachnospira ↑* Faecalibacterium |
/ | / | / | / | Associations were tested by fitting linear regression models of Shannon diversity on PA analytes, adjusting for dietary factors. The association with moderate and vigorous activity remained significant. | [38] |
| Taniguchi, Japan, 2018 |
↔ alpha diversity | ↓* C. difficile | / | / | / | / | The nutritional intake was not significantly altered during the exercise intervention; changes in diet during intervention did not seem to influence the results of the study. |
[40] |
↔ no differences between groups; ↓* significant decrease; ↓ nonsignificant decrease; ↑* significant increase; ↑ nonsignificant increase.