Fitness Freakonomics! Exercise Pays Several Surprising Benefits Far Into The Future

The Best Time To Plant A Tree…:
So we hear a lot about the benefits of exercise & nutrition.

And though people are slowly finding that nutrition is actually the weight-loss king,

Exercise all by itself turns out to be the king of many other things.

But we never really seem to learn about When we should do it.

So for this reason, researchers got together and found out another really interesting thing about its many undiscovered benefits…

 
Adult Swim?:
With more schools cutting different programs, people seem to get fatter earlier than ever.

And every time you see an article or a video, it’s usually about someone well-past college who seems to be doing the exercising.

But that begs the question,:

“Since so many people use exercise for weight-loss, is it just something you do once you’ve gotten fat & can afford a gym membership, like when you’re 35?”

 
What Is It All Wise-Men Say About Good Habits?:
So researchers at Northwestern found themselves a goldmine to answer that question.

They tracked about 500 people who reported health outcomes in a much larger study called, “The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study” (CARDIA),

And then became the first ever to find a specific-connection to the other most-important-organ in your body: Your Brain!

 
Exercise Doesn’t Just Grow New Brain-Cells:
So it turns out exercise doesn’t just benefit your waistline.

It also really helps your brain.

And Most-Interestingly their work confirms yet again that all good habits should start EARLY.

By going over 25 Years of patient data, Dr. Michael Bancks and his team showed that conclusion:

The earlier you can start regular cardio exercise, And also stop as many bad habits as-possible,

The better.

 
Early Exercise Is Like Money In The Bank!:
For study subjects who had been getting that cardio done all the way back as early as their 20s,

All had significantly-increased brain function and size.

Oh yeah, and less age-related brain-shrinkage, Alzheimer’s, and Dementia, too!

-Even as they got 3 decades older!

Which is hard to believe as the only factor among The AHA Simple 7 they tested-for, but there you are.

Somehow, strengthening your heart & cardiovascular-system when you’re young keeps paying very long-lasting benefits even when you’re middle-aged.

It’s amazing the changes can last that long, even when the researchers controlled for all other factors.

The AHA Simple 7:
Just a note to put them on this page, because they’re so very important,

The Factors of the AHA Simple 7 are as follows:
1) Manage Blood Pressure
2) Control Cholesterol
3) Reduce Blood Sugar
4) Get Active
5) Eat Better
6) Lose Weight
7) Stop Smoking
(of all the factors tested, Avoiding or Quitting Smoking seemed to have the highest-impact on brain-shrinkage.)

 
Yes, You Can Fix Some Things Later. -But Start Early Anyway:
So, although you can still benefit from positive-change as you grow older, even to the tune of improving the structure of your brain!

-Like all good habits, it’s important to start them as early as possible.

It probably won’t save you from really bad habits later, like hurting that wonderful brain with too much saturated-fat as you age,

But the results still paint a very rosy picture for exercise in a timeframe nobody dreamed would pay benefits so long afterward.

With an average reduction in “Brain Age” of one full Decade!

So get out there & get moving!


-But first, check out all the details at the Links:


Photo Credits: Photo “Heart”, by David Yu


Links:
• Source: Northwestern
• via: Time
• More Coverage: AHA-Life’s Simple 7
• Source Study: Cardiovascular health in young adulthood and structural brain MRI in midlife