Chronic physical inactivity can lead to a number of health problems, Finnish researchers Kujala UM et al. investigated whether persistent physical activity versus physical inactivity has a significant effect on serum metabolomics and thus reduces the risk of cardiovascular metabolic disease, according to results published in the January 23, 2013, issue of Circulation. The study population was drawn from 16 same-sex twin pairs (mean age, 60 years) who differed in physical activity over a period of 30 years or more in the Twin Cohort Study. 3 population-based cohorts in the sustained (5 years or more) physical activity and inactivity groups (mean age, 31-52 years) were also included in the present study (1,037 age-sex pairs). The serum metabolome was quantified using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The researchers used permutation analyses to assess the significance of multifactorial effects for all mixed metabolic measures, univariate analyses were assessed by pairwise tests in twin and matched-pair studies, and then meta-analyzed all subgroups of studies. Sustained physical activity was associated with multivariate metabolic levels in the twin cohort (P=0.003), with similar associations across mean age groups in the 3 population-based cohort studies. Physically active individuals had lower levels of isoleucine, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, and glucose than inactive individuals (P<0.001 , meta-analysis). The proportion of saturated fatty acids in the fatty acid complex was low in the physically active population. The composition of lipoprotein particles had a low concentration of low-density lipoprotein particles (P<0.001)) and an increased concentration of large and larger particles of high-density lipoprotein (P<0.001). The findings remained consistent with these results after correction for body mass index. The study by Yanbin Wang, Department of Urology, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, concluded that there were numerous differences in the circulating metabolism group comparing sustained physical activity with inactive individuals, which implies that frequently physically active individuals have better metabolic aspects of health than de-active individuals.