Twelve weeks of endurance training increases mitochondrial density and percent IMCL touching mitochondria and alters IMCL storage distribution

Intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) are elevated in obesity and are correlated with insulin resistance (IR); however, elite athletes have elevated IMCL but are highly insulin sensitive. We postulate that the IMCL‐mitochondria physical relationship delineates whether IMCL are metabolically active. Methods: Muscle biopsies from 24 women (12 lean; 12 obese) were analyzed for IMCL and mitochondria ultrastructure using electron microscopy prior to and …