Your bi-weekly source, providing you with summaries of the most recent research findings on the Health Benefits of Exercise.
Volume 7, Issue 9
Exercise more effective than angioplasty
Angioplasty is the most common procedure performed in heart disease or heart attack patients. It involves using a stint to widen arteries clogged with plaque or arthrosclerosis. Researchers recently conducted research that lead them to make a new, never-heard-before claim at the annual meeting of the European Society for Cardiology: the claim was that exercise could be more effective than angioplasty to reduce heart disease.
German researchers referenced a study where they found that nearly 90 percent of heart patients who rode stationary bikes regularly were free of heart problems one year after they started their exercise regimen. Among patients who had an angioplasty instead, only 70 percent were problem-free after a year. They concluded that exercise may be more effective at warding of heart problems than the procedure, and are conducting yet another study to further substantiate their claim.1
New study stresses the importance of healthy lifestyles
For decades, experts have been giving the same message: eat right, exercise, and don’t smoke. Now, however, new evidence has arisen that reinforces this notion and adds even more credibility. A recent study concluded with an astounding statistic: that living a healthy lifestyle and following those three guidelines decreases risk of mortality by 80%.
A group of researchers studied a group of 23,153 German adults for over 8 years and assessed their risk of developing diabetes, heart attack, stroke, or cancer. They evaluated their lifestyles, including dietary habits, physical activity and smoking. Throughout the study, researchers measured how many participants developed diabetes, cancer, heart attack and stroke. Researchers report that people with all three healthy lifestyle factors at the start of the study had a 93 percent lower risk of developing diabetes, an 81 percent lower risk of a heart attack, half the risk of stroke, and a 36 percent lower risk of cancer compared to subjects without any healthy factors.
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Obese individuals have lower brain volume
Researchers from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine conducted a study to analyze the impact that obesity has on the structure and function of the human brain. This new study, which was published online in the journal Human Brain Mapping reveals a new, little-known fact: obesity is associated with brain atrophy, and lower overall brain volume.
In the study, 94 obese or overweight participants were subject to brain imaging and mapping. When compared to the brain volumes of normal weight subjects and controlling for all other factors, it was found that the brains of obese and overweight subjects were still approximately 5% smaller. The study concludes that the size difference was due to atrophy, however the study does not distinguish whether the brain atrophy is caused by obesity, or if it’s a mere association caused by other factors.
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Exercise prevents dementia
Many studies have correlated physical activity with lower risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association asserts that an even better way to ward off cognitive decline is to combine exercise with a Mediterranean-type diet consisting of fresh vegetables, fish, nuts and other natural oils.
Researchers studied a group of 1,880 healthy seniors over the age of 65. All subjects were healthy and free of dementia or cognitive problems at the start of the study. Participants participated in high amounts of walking, or followed a Mediterranean diet. They were divided into three groups: an exercise group, a diet group, a exercise and diet group and a control group. The researchers followed each subject for an average of 5.4 years and found that the subjects who followed both the diet and exercised had a much lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive symptoms.
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Even minimal exercise is important
A new study just published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise just reiterated what we already know: that people who exercise stay alive longer thank those who do not. However, this study emphasizes the importance of incorporating even a small amount of exercise into your day: it could be a matter of life and death.
A group of researchers studied a group of 4,384 people aged in their 50s and 60s and divided them into three groups according to physical fitness. After following subjects for an average of 8-9 years each, researchers analyzed death rates. They found that the least fit group was twice as likely to die than the middle group, which was the largest difference between groups. Not surprisingly, the most fit group had the lowest mortality rate. This study shows the importance of being physically active, even it’s only minimal.
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Sources
1Meeting of the European Society for Cardiology.
2Ford ES, et al. (2009). Findings from the European Prospective Investigation and Nutrition Potsdam study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169(15), 1355-1362.
3Raji CA, et al. (2009). Brain structure and obesity. Human Brain Mapping, epub.
4Scarrmeas N, et al. (2009). Physical activity, diet and risk of Alzheimer disease. Journal of the American Medical Association, 302(6), 627-637.
5Mandic S, et al. (2009). Characterizing the differences in mortality at the low end of the fitness spectrum. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(8), 1573-1579.
