The calciotropic hormone response to omega-3 supplementation during longterm weight-bearing exercise training in post menopausal women

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ingestion of omega-3 (n-3) and aerobic exercise intervention on the calcium regulating hormones in healthy postmenopausal women. to this end,56 healthy sedentary postmenopausal women with mean age 57.7 ± 3.5 yrs participated in this study. participants were randomly divided into exercise plus supplement (e+s; n = 14),exercise (e; n = 14),supplement (s; n = 14) and control (con,n = 14) groups. the subjects in e+s and e groups performed aerobic exercise training (walking and jogging) up to 65% of exercise hrmax,three times a week for 16 weeks. subjects in e+s and s groups were asked to consume 1000 mg/d omega-3 for 16 weeks. the blood ionized calcium (ca+2),parathyroid hormone (pth),estrogen and calcitonin (ct) were measured before and after 16 weeks of exercise training. results indicated that consuming 1000 mg·day-1 omega-3 during 16 weeks and or the aerobic exercise,significantly increased ct (p = 0.001) in e+s,e and s groups and significantly decreased pth (p = 0.001) levels in e+s and e groups,also significantly increased estrogen (p = 0.024) levels in e+s and e groups,but had no significant effects on blood ca+2 (p = 0.619) levels. the results of present study demonstrate that omega-3 in combination with regular aerobic exercise training have significant effects on serum ct,estrogen and pth in non-athletic postmenopausal women,suggesting that participating in moderate intensity weight-bearing exercise and incorporating sources of omega-3 in the diet a possible intervention to help slow the loss of bone that occurs following menopause. © journal of sports science and medicine.