Exercise, Physical Activity and Metabolic Health

Dear Colleagues,

Regular physical activity and structured exercise are among the most powerful modifiable determinants of metabolic health, yet the biological pathways through which exercise influences metabolic homeostasis remain incompletely understood. Exercise induces dynamic adaptations across skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, liver, cardiovascular tissue, and endocrine systems, influencing glucose and lipid metabolism, mitochondrial function, substrate utilization, inflammatory signaling, and hormonal regulation. Importantly, metabolic responses to exercise vary according to exercise modality, intensity, duration, training status, age, sex, nutritional status, and underlying health conditions.

This Special Issue, "Exercise, Physical Activity and Metabolic Health", aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform for advancing our understanding of the molecular, cellular, physiological, and clinical mechanisms linking physical activity and exercise with metabolic health. We are seeking original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and methodological studies that investigate exercise-induced metabolic adaptations, metabolic flexibility, insulin sensitivity, glucose and lipid homeostasis, mitochondrial metabolism, endocrine responses, inflammation, adipose tissue biology, cardiometabolic risk, obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other metabolic disorders. Studies incorporating metabolomics, lipidomics, multi-omics, biomarkers, exerkines, muscle–organ crosstalk, and precision exercise approaches are of particular interest.

The Special Issue aims to bridge mechanistic discoveries with clinical and population-level applications, generating evidence that can inform personalized exercise prescription, disease prevention, therapeutic strategies, and healthier lifestyles. Contributions that address diverse populations and clinically relevant exercise interventions are especially encouraged. By integrating exercise physiology, metabolism, endocrinology, and translational health research, we hope that this Special Issue will advance our collectuve understanding of how physical activity can be harnessed to improve metabolic health across the lifespan.

Dr. Karuppasamy Govindasamy
Dr. Koulla Parpa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.