Impact of Lifestyle on the Gut Microbiota of Middle-Aged Adults: Insights from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Background: The escalating prevalence of obesity and its related comorbidities emphasizes a significant need for novel studies to address this growing health crisis. Recognizing the pivotal role of gut microbiota in shaping metabolic health, it is crucial to understand how lifestyle affects the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Objectives: This dissertation investigates the connections between lifestyle and host-microbiota-metabolic axes in mediating the effects of physical activity, Mediterranean diet, and high blood pressure (BP) in middle-aged adults enrolled in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project. Objectives were to: 1) investigate the association between physical activity and hand grip strength on the gut microbiota, 2) examine the influence of healthy dietary patterns on the gut microbiota and its functions, and 3) determine how hypertension-induced alterations in gut microbiota contribute to low-grade chronic systemic inflammation in middle-aged women. Methods: A total of 443 participants aged 38-64 years were recruited from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project. Fecal and serum samples were collected for microbiota and metabolome analyses. For Study 1, participants with normal and overweight body mass index (BMI) were classified into low (<150 min/week), moderate (150-500 min/week) and high (>500 min/week) physical activity groups. Study 2 involved classifying individuals into four quartiles based on a modified Mediterranean Diet Score ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 9 (most healthy). In Study 3, women diagnosed with hypertension (systolic BP >120 mmHg, diastolic BP >80 mmHg) were compared to those with normal BP (<120/80 mmHg). Comprehensive, multi-omics analyses were performed to investigate the connections between gut microbiota and associated variables. Results: 1) Physical activity-induced alterations in gut microbiota were found to be BMI-dependent, with the most significant benefits observed in individuals with normal BMI. 2) Increased consumption of plant-based foods augmented the composition of microbiota associated with carbohydrate metabolism and microbial-derived dietary metabolites. 3) Hypertension in middle-aged women altered tryptophan metabolism and lowered indole-producing bacteria. Conclusion: This dissertation highlights the intricate connections between lifestyle factors and the gut microbiota in shaping metabolic health. It emphasizes that physical activity, Mediterranean diet, and hypertension all influence gut microbiota composition and function, with significant implications for managing obesity-related comorbidities in middle-aged adults.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".