A Swedish study of some 4,000 60-year-olds has found that regular “non-exercise” physical activity such as gardening or DIY significantly reduced risk of heart attack or stroke, with those who were most active on a daily basis having a 27% lower risk of a heart attack or stroke and a 30% reduced risk of death from all causes. This was so regardless of how much regular formal exercise was taken. Regular physical activity was also associated with better waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides in both sexes and with lower insulin, glucose and fibrinogen levels in men. Metabolic syndrome was also significantly less likely.
Gardening as good as exercise in cutting heart attack risk
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Aerobic fitness & motor ability counteracts dangers of obesity for developing children’s brains
A Spanish study involving 101 overweight/obese children (aged 8-11) has found that aerobic capacity and motor ability is associated with a greater volume of gray matter in several cortical and subcortical brain regions.
Aerobic capacity was associated with greater gray matter volume in the premotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, hippocampus, caudate nucleus, inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and the calcarine cortex. Three of these regions (premotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex and hippocampus) were also related to better academic performance.
Even short periods of exercise help you learn and remember
Ten minutes of light exercise boosts memory
Following rat studies, a study involving 36 healthy young adults has found that 10 minutes of light exercise (such as tai chi, yoga, or walking) significantly improved highly detailed memory processing and resulted in increased activity in the hippocampus.
Mouse studies link physical exercise to increased synapses
How exercise may protect against Alzheimer's
Previous research uncovered a hormone called irisin that is released into the circulation during physical activity, and appeared to play a role in energy metabolism. Mice studies have now found that irisin protected memory and synapses in the brain — disabling irisin in the hippocampus resulted in synapses and memory weakening; boosting brain levels of irisin improved synapses and memory.
Moving more in old age may protect brain from dementia
A long-running study involving 454 older adults who were given physical exams and cognitive tests every year for 20 years has found that those who moved more than average maintained more of their cognitive skills than people who were less active than average, even if they have brain lesions or biomarkers linked to dementia.
Weak handgrip may warn of cognitive impairment
A large study, involving nearly 14,000 older adults (50+) participating in the 2006 Health and Retirement Study, found that weaker handgrip strength was associated with a greater risk of developing cognitive impairment, especially severe impairment, over the eight-year study period.
Moreover, there was a dose-response type relationship, with every 5-kilogram (11-pound) reduction in handgrip strength being associated with a 10% greater risk of cognitive impairment and an 18% greater risk of severe cognitive impairment.
Exercise may be #1 way to prevent dementia
A long-running study following 387 Australian women found that regular exercise in middle age was the best lifestyle change they could make to prevent cognitive decline in their later years.
The women were aged 45-55 when the study began in 1992. Health and lifestyle factors were assessed at intervals over the next 20 years.
Memory was assessed using a Verbal Episodic Memory test in which they were asked to learn a list of 10 unrelated words and attempt to recall them 30 minutes later.
Physical fitness improves brains in younger adults too
Data from a publicly available database of 1206 MRI brain scans from the Human Connectome Project has revealed that physical fitness is associated with better brain structure and brain functioning in young adults.
The volunteers (average age 29) had their physical fitness assessed using a "two-minute walking test", where each person is asked to walk as fast as possible for 2 minutes and the distance is then measured. Cognition was assessed using a series of cognitive tests to create a global cognition score.
Green tea plus exercise may speed up weight loss
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Mice given decaffeinated green tea and regular exercise lost weight and improved their health after 16 weeks. Specifically, they reduced body mass by 27% (on average), reduced abdominal fat by 37%; reduced blood glucose level by 17%, plasma insulin level by 65%, and insulin resistance by 65%..
Neither green tea alone, nor exercise alone, produced such significant changes. The amount of green tea was a lot: the equivalent of 8-10 cups a day. Decaffeination may not be important; it was done to keep the effects of caffeine out of the study.
Benefits of exercise for older adults depends on genes
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A year-long study involving 424 sedentary, mobility-limited seniors aged 70-89, has found that variants in a specific gene (the ACE I/D gene) affect seniors’ ability to benefit from exercise. Physical activity intervention led to greater improvements in walking speed among ID and DD genotype carriers (29.9% and 13.7% respectively), but among II genotype carriers, health education alone led to more improvements in walking speed than physical activity intervention (20% vs. 18.5%).
Vitamin C and E supplements hampers endurance training
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An 11-week trial involving 54 young, healthy men and women engaging in an endurance training program, has found that markers for the production of new muscle mitochondria only increased in the group not taking vitamin C and E supplements. It’s possible that high doses of vitamins C and E act as antioxidants and take away some of the oxidative stress needed to develop muscular endurance.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/w-vca013014.php