A novel long term short interval physical activity regime improves body composition in mice

Finding: Average weekly running distance was generally cyclic in nature over the 22 weeks but did not change significantly from week to week, except for a difference between week 3 and week 9 (P = 0.05). Daily running distances ranged from 0.78 km to 1.45 km. Compared with non-runners, runners demonstrated significantly lower relative fat mass (9.98 +/- 0.56% vs. 14.91 +/- 1.47%, P = 0.0067) and significantly higher relative lean mass (79.18 +/- 0.65% vs. 75.41 +/- 1.28%, P = 0.019). No differences were observed with respect to glucose metabolism.Voluntary wheel running for one hour a day five days a week over a five month period improved body composition in young adult mice. This repetitive short interval exercise regime should be a useful model to investigate the effects of structured moderate intensity physical activity on physiological performance and chronic disease conditions in mice.