Fish oil improves body composition?

Can fish oil improve body composition?

Fish oil is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are generally believed to have positive health effects. Omega 3 may improve various aspects of metabolism such as increased insulin sensitivity and fat oxidation (burning).

This study investigated whether fish oil improves body composition compared to safflower oil as control. The subjects were 44 healthy men and women. They ingested 4 grams per day of either fish or safflower oil for 6 weeks. Body composition was measured with air displacement plethysmography (i.e. BodPod) before and after the 6-week intervention.

The fish oil group gained 0.5 kg of lean mass, while the control group lost 0.1 kg of lean mass. As for fat mass, the fish oil group lost 0.5 kg, while the control group gained 0.2 kg. The fish oil group also decreased their cortisol (the stress hormone) levels.

While these effects sound promising, it should be noted that the BodPod is not ideal for assessing body composition. In addition, most similar studies have not found positive effects.

In general, you should not expect any effect during optimal conditions (e.g. trained young adults with good diets), but may the chance to see small benefits increases in more compromised conditions (e.g. inactive older adults with disease).

Study:
Noreen et al. Effects of supplemental fish oil on resting metabolic rate, body composition, and salivary cortisol in healthy adults. J Int Soc Sport Nutr, 2010

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