The aim of this article was to conduct a bibliometric analysis of global research trends in the field of exercise and metabolomics between 2005 and 2020. Systematic articles were obtained from the literature in the Web of Science core collection database from 2005 to 2020. The relationship between the number of publications, citations, countries, journals, authors, and the evolution of research hotspots was analyzed. A total of 807 studies were included in the analysis. From 2005 to 2020, the number of citations and the number of published articles showed an upward trend. Keyword co-occurrence indicates that research hotspots are focused on exercise, physical activity, metabolomics, obesity, insulin resistance, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Keyword clustering indicates that the research frontier is focused on the field of sports medicine, which includes molecular-level studies of exercise interventions in disease and studies of the physiological mechanisms by which exercise alters the body. Overall, this trinity of models, combining chronic disease with exercise interventions and molecular-level studies of metabolomics, has become the forefront of research in the field. This historical review of the field of exercise and metabolomics will further provide a useful basis for hot issues and future development trends.
Keywords: Web of Science; bibliometric analysis; exercise; metabolomics; research frontier.