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Aerobic

Aerobic exercise featured article

Aerobic exercise can be defined as physical activity that increases aerobic metabolism, meaning energy-generating processes that require oxygen. Common examples of aerobic exercises are walking, running, swimming, dancing, and other activities that increase heart rate and breathing. Exercise elicits a wide range of physiological changes in the body that improve cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic health.

Current physical activity guidelines from the United States Department of Health and Human Services recommend the following.

  • Adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
  • Physical activity of moderate intensity beyond 300 minutes per week provides additional health benefits.
  • Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity...
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Episodes

aerobic

This Could Extend Your Lifespan By 5 Years

Posted on September 2nd 2024 (10 months)

In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick explains how cardiorespiratory fitness impacts life expectancy and highlights the best aerobic exercises to increase VO2 max.

exercise

Can resistance training be a type of aerobic exercise? | Dr. Martin Gibala

Posted on October 4th 2023 (over 1 year)

In this clip, Dr. Martin Gibala discusses how functional training simultaneously boosts cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle conditioning.

exercise

Why 'sprint from danger' intensity increases VO2 max | Dr. Martin Gibala

Posted on September 28th 2023 (over 1 year)

In this clip, Dr. Martin Gibala highlights the benefits of high-intensity sprint training for general fitness and elite athletes.

Topic Pages

  • Aerobic exercise

    Aerobic exercise sustains ATP production primarily through mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, utilizing oxygen to metabolize carbohydrates and fats during prolonged activity.

  • Exercise and Weight Loss

    Regular aerobic exercise elevates metabolic energy expenditure and lipolysis, promoting negative caloric balance and consequent body weight reduction.

  • Exercise Intensity

    Exercise intensity ascends until aerobic oxygen delivery limits oxidative phosphorylation; surpassing that limit necessitates anaerobic ATP supplementation.

  • Hallmarks of aging

    Aerobic exercise activates AMPK-PGC1α signaling, enhances mitophagy and autophagy, dampens senescence-associated inflammation, counteracting multiple aging hallmarks.

News & Publications

  • Aerobic or combination aerobic/resistance exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risk better than resistance exercise alone. academic.oup.com
    Exercise Mortality Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Cardiovascular disease claims the lives of nearly 20 million people worldwide every year. Exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, but experts aren’t sure which form of exercise is optimal for reducing that risk. A recent study found that aerobic exercise alone or combined with resistance exercise is more effective at reducing cardiovascular disease risk than resistance exercise alone.

    The study involved 406 middle-aged adults with high blood pressure and either overweight or obesity. Participants engaged in one of three training regimens – resistance, aerobic, or combined resistance and aerobic – for one hour, three times weekly, for one year. A fourth group remained sedentary. Researchers scored the participants' cardiovascular disease risk based on measures of their systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, and percent body fat before and after the interventions.

    They found that participants who engaged in the aerobic or combined aerobic/resistance regimens showed improved cardiovascular disease risk scores at the one-year point. However, those who engaged in only resistance or were sedentary showed no improvements in their risk scores. When the researchers looked at individual risk factors, they found that all three exercising groups lost body fat, but their systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and fasting glucose did not decrease.

    These findings suggest that aerobic exercise alone or combined aerobic plus resistance reduces the cardiovascular disease risk profile in people with overweight or obesity. Other evidence indicates that high-intensity interval training (HIIT)’s cardiovascular benefits rival or surpass those of traditional aerobic exercise. Learn more about the benefits of HIIT in this episode featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • A combined aerobic-resistance training regimen proves equally effective for cardiovascular health as aerobic alone. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Most cardiovascular health interventions emphasize aerobic exercise, which challenges the heart, lowering blood pressure and increasing cardiac output. However, a recent study found that a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training provides similar cardiovascular benefits to those of aerobic exercise alone.

    Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 406 adults with overweight or obesity and elevated blood pressure. They randomly assigned participants to one of four exercise intervention groups: aerobic only, resistance only, a combination of aerobic and resistance, or no exercise. Participants exercised for one hour daily, three times weekly, for one year.

    The researchers found that the participants in the aerobic-only and aerobic and resistance combination groups benefited equally from the one-year intervention, with both groups showing nearly identical improvements in risk profiles. The resistance-only and no-exercise groups did not improve.

    These findings suggest that aerobic exercise alone or combined aerobic plus resistance exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risk in adults with overweight or obesity. Interestingly, resistance exercise can have aerobic effects. Learn more in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • 'Weekend warrior' exercise pattern may be surprisingly effective: Condensing weekly exercise into one or two days offers benefits highly similar to spreading it out, as long as total active minutes are similar. healthnews.com
    Exercise Heart Disease Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Current exercise guidelines recommend that adults engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly to promote cardiovascular health. However, finding the time to exercise often presents challenges, with many people squeezing in a couple of weekend workouts – often called the “weekend warrior” pattern. A recent study found that people whose physical activity occurred over one or two days had similar cardiovascular disease risks as those with more evenly distributed activity.

    Researchers analyzed the accelerometer-based physical activity patterns of nearly 90,000 adults enrolled in the UK Biobank study. They categorized the participants according to three activity patterns: inactive (fewer than 150 minutes), active weekend warrior (150 minutes or more, mostly over one or two days), and active regular (150 minutes or more, spread throughout the week).

    They found that both activity patterns – weekend warrior vs. regular – had comparable effects on cardiovascular disease risk, reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation (22 percent vs. 19 percent), heart attack (27 percent vs. 35 percent), heart failure (38 percent vs. 36 percent), and stroke (21 percent vs. 17 percent).

    These findings suggest that engaging in aerobic physical activity, either regularly throughout the week or in a more condensed pattern during the weekends, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart muscle, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation, promoting improved cardiovascular health. Learn how even resistance training can be aerobic in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Just 30 minutes of reduced-exertion high-intensity training weekly improved sedentary people's aerobic capacity and metabolic health. link.springer.com
    Exercise Metabolism Diabetes Aerobic

    Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by skeletal muscle insulin resistance. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity, but the demanding nature of traditional HIIT sessions can be daunting for people unaccustomed to regular physical activity. A 2012 study found that reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training (REHIT) improved aerobic capacity and metabolic health in people who were sedentary – a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.

    The study involved 29 sedentary young adults. Half the participants engaged in three 10-minute REHIT sessions weekly for six weeks. Each session consisted of low-intensity cycling and one or two brief “all-out” sprints lasting between 10 and 20 seconds. The other half of the participants remained sedentary. Researchers assessed the participant’s aerobic capacity (measured as VO2 peak) and insulin sensitivity before and after their respective interventions.

    Ten of the 15 REHIT participants completed all 18 sessions, indicating high compliance. Aerobic capacity increased by 15 percent in males and 12 percent in females. Insulin sensitivity improved by 28 percent in males but not in females. Participants rated their perceived exertion as “hard” or “somewhat hard.”

    Encouraging regular, balanced exercise that includes cardiorespiratory, strength, and flexibility training can optimize health benefits. However, addressing barriers, such as lack of time or access to formal exercise equipment, is crucial to have widespread effects. The findings in this small study suggest that brief, reduced-exertion high-intensity training improves aerobic capacity and metabolic health in sedentary people despite a low time commitment (just 30 minutes per week) and relatively low effort. Learn more about REHIT and how it differs from HIIT and SIT in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Short bursts of vigorous daily activity reduce cardiovascular disease-related death risk by nearly half. www.nature.com
    Exercise Aerobic

    The extent to which physical activity influences health outcomes depends on its intensity, with higher-intensity activities contributing to greater reductions in disease and death risk. Evidence suggests that brief episodes of vigorous lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) that are part of people’s daily routines, such as fast walking or stair climbing, are as effective as structured, vigorous exercise at improving health outcomes. A 2022 study found that engaging in three to six minutes of VILPA daily reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by as much as 49 percent.

    Researchers tracked the physical activity of more than 25,000 non-exercisers – people who did not engage in leisure time physical activity, such as sports – for a week using wrist-worn accelerometers. Then, they monitored the participants' health for approximately seven years.

    They found that participants who engaged in three short bursts of activity (each lasting one or two minutes) daily were 38 to 40 percent less likely to die of cancer or other causes of premature death than those who did not. They were also 48 to 49 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

    These findings demonstrate that even small amounts of VILPA can markedly reduce the risk of early death, yielding similar benefits to vigorous physical activity performed during structured exercise. VILPA may be a viable strategy for promoting physical activity, especially for people unable or unwilling to engage in structured exercise programs. Incorporating vigorous activities throughout one’s day, with a goal of accumulating several minutes of VILPA daily, can have profound health effects. Learn more about VILPA in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • "Exercise snacks" – short bursts of activity interspersed throughout the day – boost fitness levels in sedentary adults. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Aging Diabetes Aerobic

    Sedentary behavior is associated with an increased risk of many chronic diseases. Evidence suggests that “exercise snacks” – brief, isolated intervals of vigorous exercise, each lasting less than one minute and typically performed multiple times throughout the day – may counter the harmful effects of sedentary behavior. A 2022 study found that vigorous stair-climbing increased participants' peak oxygen uptake by approximately 5 percent.

    The study involved 24 healthy, sedentary young adults. For six weeks, half of the participants engaged in three bouts of vigorous stair climbing (60 steps in a three-flight stairwell) daily, with one to four hours of rest in between, three days a week. The other half did not participate in any training. Researchers measured the participants' peak oxygen uptake and power output before and after the intervention.

    At the end of the intervention, the stair-climbing participants' peak oxygen uptake had increased by approximately 5 percent, and peak power output increased by 12 percent. Participants maintained a consistent rate of perceived exertion of 5, indicating a “hard” level, and their heart rate remained relatively stable at approximately 85 percent of the age-predicted maximum.

    These findings suggest that integrating brief periods of intense exercise into one’s daily routine can improve cardiorespiratory fitness in sedentary adults. They also align with previous research showing that exercise snacks improve insulin sensitivity in people with insulin resistance.

    A key benefit of exercise snacks is that they eliminate the need for specialized equipment and the scheduling of leisure time for structured exercise. They are easily integrated into everyday activities, whether inserting short bursts of activity between tasks or incorporating them into daily routines at home, work, or school. Exercise snacks can also reduce blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Learn more in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Genes involved in muscle function, energy production and utilization, and oxygen delivery play critical roles in how exercise boosts VO2 max. bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com
    Exercise Metabolism Genetics Muscle Aerobic

    VO2 max – the maximum rate of oxygen a person can consume during exercise – is a robust predictor of a person’s risk for chronic diseases and death. Exercise increases VO2 max, but how well a person responds to exercise training varies considerably and may be influenced by genetics. A 2017 systematic review identified nearly 100 genes that likely influence a person’s VO2 max response to exercise training.

    Researchers reviewed 35 studies investigating genetic variants in the context of supervised aerobic exercise interventions aimed at improving VO2 max. The studies were based on DNA samples from more than 4,200 people of varied genetic makeup.

    The researchers' analysis identified 97 genes that might influence a person’s VO2 max response to exercise training by modulating muscle function and efficiency, electrolyte balance, lipid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, energy production, and oxygen delivery. They found that people who responded more favorably to exercise training tended to have more positive response alleles – genetic variants associated with a more favorable or beneficial response to exercise training – in those genes.

    These findings highlight the influence of specific genetic variants on a person’s response to exercise training and their effect on VO2 max improvements. However, the authors cautioned that while most of the articles reviewed in their analysis primarily investigated a single or a limited number of candidate genes or markers, exercise-related traits are intricate and influenced by multiple genes working in concert. Learn how Tabata, a type of HIIT, increases VO2 max in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Time-efficient sprint interval training matches traditional exercise for cardiometabolic health. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Metabolism Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Traditional moderate-intensity continuous exercise training (MICT) promotes cardiometabolic health but requires a considerable time commitment, a factor many people often cite as a reason for not exercising. Evidence suggests sprint interval training (SIT) offers similar benefits for insulin sensitivity and heart health as MICT. A 2016 study found that 12 weeks of SIT improved cardiometabolic health as effectively as MICT – with one-fifth of the time commitment.

    SIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by low-intensity recovery periods. It is sometimes described as a “sprint from danger” pace, equating to one’s top running speed, executed for five to ten seconds.

    The study involved 27 young, sedentary men who engaged in SIT, MICT, or no exercise (a control group) for 12 weeks. Those who engaged in SIT performed three 20-second high-intensity intermittent exercise sets within a 10-minute cycling session, while those who engaged in MICT performed 50 minutes of continuous cycling exercise at a moderate intensity. Both groups underwent muscle biopsies and body composition analyses before and after the interventions.

    SIT and MICT improved peak oxygen uptake by 19 percent, indicating improved cardiorespiratory fitness. In addition, both groups demonstrated enhanced insulin sensitivity and increased levels of citrate synthase, a marker of muscle mitochondria content.

    Although this was a small study, its findings suggest that SIT can be an effective and time-efficient strategy to improve cardiometabolic health among sedentary people. The findings also underscore the importance of considering alternative exercise strategies that may be more feasible for people with limited time for workouts. Learn more about SIT in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • High-intensity interval training counteracts muscle protein loss induced by sleep deprivation. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Sleep Muscle Protein Aerobic

    Sleep deprivation profoundly affects the human body, negatively influencing cognitive performance, cardiovascular health, and more. Findings from a 2020 study suggest that sleep deprivation impairs muscle protein synthesis, but exercise counters this effect. People who slept only four hours per night but engaged in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) exhibited muscle protein synthesis comparable to those who slept a full night.

    Researchers assigned 24 healthy young men to one of three five-night sleep protocols: normal sleep (eight hours nightly), sleep restriction (four hours nightly), and sleep restriction with HIIT. Researchers collected muscle biopsies to assess muscle protein synthesis before and after the intervention.

    They found that the group with sleep restriction had lower rates of muscle protein synthesis than those with normal sleep and those who combined sleep restriction with HIIT.

    HIIT is a time-efficient strategy to promote cardiovascular fitness and metabolic health. Its flexibility accommodates a wide range of exercises, including walking, running, cycling, and even resistance training, making it accessible to people of different fitness levels and abilities.

    This was a small study, but the findings suggest that sleep restriction reduces muscle protein synthesis, potentially contributing to muscle loss. However, engaging in HIIT during periods of sleep restriction helps maintain muscle protein synthesis, potentially counteracting the adverse effects of sleep loss on muscle mass. Learn more about the benefits of HIIT in this episode featuring Dr. Martin Gibala

    Former FMF guest Dr. Stuart Phillips was a collaborator and participant in this study. Learn more about Dr. Phillips' research in this episode.

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  • Challenging cardio exercise guidelines: One intense weekly workout reduces heart disease risk by 40 percent. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Heart Disease Mortality Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Current exercise guidelines recommend that adults engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity (or an equivalent combination of the two) weekly to promote cardiovascular health. However, a 2006 study challenged those recommendations, suggesting that a single weekly bout of vigorous exercise reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease-related death by 40 percent.

    The study involved more than 56,000 people who were free of cardiovascular disease at enrollment. Researchers tracked the participants' health for roughly 16 years to assess their activity levels and risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

    They found that even a single weekly session of intense exercise, lasting 30 minutes or longer, markedly reduced the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke compared to no exercise at all. Interestingly, exercising more frequently or for longer durations each week didn’t provide additional benefits. Another finding was that as men got older, the protective effect of exercise against cardiovascular death became more pronounced. However, this age-related benefit wasn’t evident in women.

    Vigorous-intensity exercise is physical activity that demands a significant and challenging effort, promoting a substantial increase in heart and breathing rates. It requires considerable energy expenditure and typically involves activities like running, cycling at high speeds, or intense aerobics. During vigorous-intensity exercise, a person’s target heart rate is approximately 60 to 85 percent of their maximum heart rate.

    These findings from this observational study suggest that even one vigorous, 30-minute or longer workout a week can have substantial cardiovascular health benefits. Current exercise guidelines may need to be revised to account for the effects of HIIT on cardiorespiratory fitness. Learn more about the health benefits of HIIT in this episode featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Lactate produced from high-intensity exercise may play crucial memory role and correlates closely with plasma BDNF. www.mdpi.com
    Exercise Brain Aerobic BDNF Neurodegeneration Lactate

    From the article:

    Current research has shown that (i) increased peripheral lactate levels (following high intensity exercise) are associated with increased peripheral BDNF levels, (ii) lactate infusion at rest can increase peripheral and central BDNF levels and (iii) lactate plays a very complex role in the brain’s metabolism. In this review, we summarize the role and relationship of lactate and BDNF in exercise induced neuroplasticity.

    […]

    Several trials have used blood lactate for the monitoring of exercise intensity. These studies indicate that higher lactate concentrations are associated with increased BDNF plasma and/or serum levels. Furthermore, current evidence indicates that high intensity interval training evokes larger BDNF levels compared to moderate and/or intensive continuous exercise […] Current research indicates that lactate transport from astrocytes to neurons plays a crucial role for memory formation and could be a link between exercise and neuroplasticity. Pharmacological inhibition of MCT 2 irreversibly impairs long-term memory. Van de Hall et al. have shown that lactate uptake in the brain increases from 8% at rest up to 20% during exercise.

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  • Testosterone replacement may help mobility limited older men improve and maintain aerobic capacity. (2014) www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Aging Hormones Aerobic Cardiovascular Lactate

    From the article:

    To investigate whether testosterone supplementation improves measures of aerobic function ― the peak oxygen uptake and the gas exchange lactate threshold ― Dr. Storer and his colleagues analayzed data from subjects in a larger randomized controlled study of men over age 65 who had low testosterone levels and difficulty performing the usual physical activities of daily living. For 6 months, 28 men in one group received 10 milligrams of testosterone gel and 36 men in a second group received a placebo gel. All subjects completed a cycle exercise test to measure their peak aerobic fitness before and after the 6 month study.

    The men taking testosterone displayed a slight improvement in aerobic fitness while those taking placebo showed a slight decline. This small increase in aerobic capacity in the testosterone group eliminated the expected decrease that men generally experience with natural aging.

    Among the men taking testosterone, the age-related decline in the peak oxygen uptake was 3.4 times less than expected, while the rate of decline among the men taking placebo accelerated to nearly twice the expected rate. The decrease in gas exchange lactate threshold was significantly smaller in the testosterone group than in the placebo group. Longer term studies are needed to evaluate safety and durability of effect.

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  • Short-term aerobic conditioning prior to resistance training augments muscle hypertrophy and satellite cell content in healthy young men and women pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Muscle Aerobic

    Aerobic exercise pre-conditions muscles for optimal returns from resistance exercise.

    Skeletal muscle contains a designated population of adult stem cells called satellite cells. These cells are typically inactive, but if the muscle is injured or stressed (as in exercise), they can be recruited to participate in the regeneration of muscle fibers. As such, satellite cells play important roles in muscle maintenance, repair, and hypertrophy, the increase in muscle size that accompanies exercise. Findings from a new study suggest that engaging in aerobic exercise prior to resistance training increases satellite cell numbers and promotes muscle hypertrophy via increased muscle capillarization.

    Muscle capillarization refers to the formation of capillaries in muscle tissue. Capillarization facilitates the delivery of oxygen, nutrients, and various signaling and growth factors to muscle tissues and plays critical roles in muscle maintenance and growth. Previous research indicates that muscle capillarization decreases with age.

    The study involved 14 healthy, recreationally active young adults (average age, 22 years). Using a specially adapted exercise bike that challenged only one leg, participants engaged in 45 minutes of progressively difficult aerobic exercise conditioning three times a week for six weeks. Previous research has demonstrated that six to eight weeks of conditioning is sufficient to promote muscle capillarization.

    Two weeks after completing the conditioning program, the participants began a 10-week resistance training program using both legs and primarily targeting the muscles of the thighs. Immediately after each resistance training session, participants received a whey protein supplement that contained leucine, a branched-chain amino acid that promotes muscle protein synthesis, which is essential for muscle gains. The investigators collected muscle tissue samples from the participants' legs before and after the interventions to assess muscle capillarization, fiber size, and satellite cell content and activity.

    They found that aerobic conditioning promoted muscle capillarization in the conditioned leg, amplifying muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance training. They noted that the number of satellite cells increased in the conditioned leg relative to the non-conditioned one. In addition, they observed a significant relationship between the degree of capillarization and hypertrophy.

    These findings suggest that engaging in aerobic exercise prior to resistance training promotes muscle capillarization, which in turn increases satellite cell numbers and promotes muscle protein synthesis and hypertrophy. Learn about other factors that promote muscle hypertrophy in this episode featuring Dr. Stuart Phillips.

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  • Air pollution may attenuate the beneficial association vigorous physical activity with low white-matter hyperintensity volume n.neurology.org
    Exercise Brain Aging Pollution Aerobic Neurodegeneration Small Vessel Disease

    Air pollution negates some of the beneficial effects of vigorous-intensity exercise.

    Components present in air pollution – a mixture of toxic chemicals, gases, and particulate matter – can cross biological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier. Exposure to air pollutants is associated with poor health outcomes and an increased risk for both acute and chronic diseases. A recent study suggests that air pollution negates some, but not all, of the beneficial effects of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise.

    Robust evidence demonstrates that vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise (defined as activity that achieves a heart rate that is 70 to 80 percent of one’s maximum) benefits brain health. For example, vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise appears to activate the endocannabinoid system to promote motor sequence memory and learning. Other evidence suggests it improves mood.

    The study involved 8,600 adult participants enrolled in the UK Biobank study. Participants wore wrist accelerometers to track their physical activity. They also underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess their structural brain volumes and identify the presence of white matter hyperintensities – areas of the brain that show up as distinct white areas on MRIs and indicate cerebral small blood vessel disease. The investigators estimated the participants' exposure to air pollution based on where the participants lived.

    The investigators found that the more physically active participants were, the less their brains showed evidence of shrinkage, and the fewer white matter hyperintensities they exhibited – an effect roughly equivalent to being three years younger. Participants who were exposed to more air pollution exhibited greater brain shrinkage than those with less exposure – about the amount observed in one year of normal aging. However, participants who exercised the most and had the most exposure to air pollution demonstrated no evidence of more brain shrinkage, but they exhibited more white matter hyperintensities, especially if they engaged in vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise.

    These findings support earlier studies that demonstrate the beneficial health effects of vigorous-intensity exercise on the brain but suggest that exercising in areas where air pollution is high negates some of these benefits. The authors recommended that because most air pollution comes from vehicle exhaust, people should exercise in areas far from heavily trafficked roads.

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  • Even low exercise groups prevents accumulation of visceral fat (vigorous sees declines): highest level saw a 6.9 percent decrease in visceral fat www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Obesity Aerobic Visceral Fat

    From 2005.

    From the article:

    To better understand the effects of differing amounts of exercise, the researchers studied 175 overweight sedentary men and women who were beginning to show signs of lipid problems. They were randomized into one of four groups: no exercise, low dose/moderate intensity (equivalent of 12 miles of walking per week), low dose/vigorous intensity (12 miles of jogging per week) or high dose/vigorous intensity (20 miles of jogging per week).

    […]

    “On the other hand, participants who exercised at a level equivalent to 17 miles of jogging each week saw significant declines in visceral fat, subcutaneous abdominal fat and total abdominal fat,” Slentz continued. “While this may seem like a lot of exercise, our previously sedentary and overweight subjects were quite capable of doing this amount.”

    Specifically, those participants exercising at the highest level saw a 6.9 percent decrease in visceral fat and a 7 percent decrease in subcutaneous fat.

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  • Intense cycling exercise at 80% maximum heart rate improves memory via endocannabinoid action on the hippocampus www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Performance Memory Cannabinoid Aerobic

    Exercise activates the endocannabinoid system to promote learning and memory formation.

    Scientists have identified robust links between physical exercise and brain health. Some of the mechanisms that drive the beneficial effects of exercise on the brain include increases in brain volume and connectivity, improved blood flow, enhanced synaptic plasticity, and increased neurogenesis – the formation of new neurons. Findings from a 2020 study suggest that moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise improves motor sequence memory via endocannabinoid action on the hippocampus.

    Motor sequence memory involves learning predefined sequences of interrelated motor actions, such as playing the piano or dancing. The hippocampus interacts with various neural networks to support the formation of motor sequency memory.

    Endocannabinoids are small lipid molecules produced in the body that bind to cannabinoid receptors in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Endocannabinoids regulate many physiological processes, including movement control, pain processing, brain development, and learning and memory. The two major endocannabinoids in the body are anandamide and 2-arachindonyl glycerol.

    The study involved 15 healthy adults (average age, 23 years) who had at least fair respiratory fitness, as measured via VO2 max. Participants completed a serial reaction time task (a widely used measure of learning and memory) before and after three conditions: moderate-intensity exercise, vigorous-intensity exercise, and rest. Prior to performing the task, participants consumed a standardized carbohydrate-rich breakfast. During the task, the investigators measured the participants' behavior, brain activity, and circulating anandamide (endocannabinoid) levels.

    They found that vigorous-intensity exercise markedly improved motor sequence memory compared to rest. Moderate-intensity exercise also improved motor sequence memory, but to a lesser degree. The improvements coincided with increased levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide and enhanced hippocampal activity.

    These findings suggest that vigorous-intensity exercise promotes motor sequence memory and learning and underscore the benefits of exercise on cognitive function. Learn about the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise in our overview article.

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  • Vitamin D supplementation may improve cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength (randomized controlled trial, n=74) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Vitamin D Exercise Muscle Aerobic Strength Supplements

    From the abstract:

    Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength were measured before and after supplementation through maximal treadmill tests and dynamometry, respectively. Wilcoxon tests were used to compare intragroup results and the Mann-Whitney test to examine intergroup differences. There was an increase in the serum concentration of vitamin D in participants who ingested the supplementation. Cardiorespiratory fitness improved after supplementation through increases in the values of maximum oxygen consumption of 28% (p < .001). Muscle strength in left hand grip increased 18% in participants who received the supplement (p = .007). Sixty days of cholecalciferol supplementation improved cardiorespiratory fitness and upper limb muscle strength.

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  • Could the cure to alcoholism be a liver hormone modulated by aerobic exercise? FGF21 changes behavior of monkeys, reducing alcohol consumption by 50% newatlas.com
    Exercise Alcohol Aerobic

    Liver-derived hormone FGF21 dramatically reduces appetite for alcohol Researchers believe that humans first encountered alcohol long before we learnt how to control the process and make it ourselves – through the consumption of fermented fruit. One plausible result of this long history of alcohol exposure is that we have evolved a suite of biological mechanisms for detoxifying and regulating our appetite for alcohol, which may be useful for developing new treatments for alcohol use disorder. Now, a recent randomized controlled trial suggests that the liver-derived hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a candidate treatment capable of altering the reward system of the brain and profoundly reducing alcohol intake in primates.

    The researchers carried out their study in vervet monkeys – a species that parallels human populations in containing a mix of alcohol avoiders, moderate consumers, and heavy consumers who will drink to the point of intoxication. Twenty monkeys were selected based on having at least a slight interest in consuming alcohol. The researchers then quantified each individual’s preferred alcohol intake level by monitoring their behaviours when the animals received four hours of daily access to a bottle of 10% ethanol solution alongside plain tap water.

    After a baseline observation period of nine days, monkeys were randomly selected to receive a daily injection of either a sterile saline solution (placebo) or a pharmacological analog of the liver hormone FGF21 for a total of 16 days.

    The FGF21-mimicking drug was found to produce a 50 percent reduction in alcohol consumption, without influencing the monkeys’ intakes of food or water. Looking into the effects of FGF21 in the brain, the researchers uncovered that both FGF21 and its synthetic analog increased the transmission of signals to a specific group of brain cells in the nucleus accumbens – a hotspot of the brain’s reward system. These cells were distinguished by the presence of specifically D2-type dopamine receptors, which have been strongly implicated in reigning in impulsive and repetitive consumption of other substances like sugar. Human variants in the D2 receptor gene have also been linked to greater risk of alcohol dependence.

    The findings suggest that FGF21 serves as a regulatory message between the liver and the brain’s impulse control circuits, and that boosting this signal may aid in the treatment of substance addictions.

    -Link to full publication.

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  • 20 minutes of running/cycling per day beginning at age 70 reduces the risk of heart attacks, CHD, and heart failure by 52 percent in men www.eurekalert.org
    Exercise Heart Disease Aerobic

    Just 20 minutes of exercise daily reduces heart disease risk in older adults. The benefits of regular physical exercise on cardiovascular health are well established. However, most studies investigating the benefits of exercise have been conducted in younger adults rather than older ones, for whom cardiovascular disease risk is greatest. Findings from a recent study demonstrate that 20 minutes of exercise daily reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults.

    The authors of the study drew on data from the Progetto Veneto Anziani, a long-term cohort study of more than 3,000 older adults (65 years and older) living in northern Italy. They identified participants with cardiovascular disease based on information gleaned from medical exams or hospital records. Every five years (at 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 years of age), the authors assessed the participants' physical activity levels based on information provided in questionnaires.

    The risk of cardiovascular-related events or premature death was lower among older adults who were physically active. Men, in particular, were half as likely to experience a cardiovascular event if they were physically active. The effects of exercise were dose-dependent, with 20 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise daily providing the greatest benefits, especially when performed earlier in one’s later years, between the ages of 70 and 75 years. Exercising more than 40 minutes daily provided no additional benefits.

    Although the authors of this study did not differentiate between the effects of different types of exercise, their findings demonstrate that aerobic exercise is particularly beneficial for cardiovascular health. Learn more about aerobic exercise in our overview article.

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  • Increasing testosterone during aerobic exercise may be a unique quality of only high-intensity exercise: 31% increase from 40 mins maximum intensity www.mdpi.com
    Testosterone Aerobic

    Intense aerobic exercise modulates testosterone levels. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone. It plays critical roles in reproductive health and contributes to bone and muscle mass accretion. A recent review summarizes the effects of aerobic exercise on testosterone levels.

    Aerobic exercise can be defined as physical activity that increases aerobic metabolism – the body’s energy-producing processes that require oxygen. Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, running, swimming, dancing, and other activities that increase heart rate and respiration. Exercise intensity – the physiological demand it creates on the body – is a critical modulator of exercise-induced changes in testosterone concentrations. Intensity is often captured as a percentage of a person’s maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max).

    The reviewers highlighted the findings of studies that focused on exercise intensity and testosterone response. In one study, investigators assessed changes in testosterone after low, moderate, or high intensity aerobic exercise on an exercise bike and found that only high-intensity exercise increased testosterone. Another group of investigators found that exercise intensity was the critical determinant in whether testosterone levels increased, especially if the number of repetitions remained constant. The group conducted another study in which runners using a treadmill experienced incremental increases in exercise intensity, ranging from 60 to 100 percent of the runner’s VO2max. They found that the runners' testosterone levels began to increase when the runners reached 90 percent of their VO2max and remained high at 100 percent VO2max. About one hour post exercise, the runners' testosterone returned to baseline levels. The reviewers also described research demonstrating that duration and hydration status influence testosterone levels, as well.

    The findings presented in this review suggest that intense aerobic exercise promotes increases in testosterone levels, ultimately influencing reproductive and musculoskeletal health. Learn about other beneficial health effects of aerobic exercise in our overview article

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  • Cardio exercise increases the production of FGF21 3x more than strength training: a hormone with relevance to metabolic disorders www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Obesity Diabetes Aerobic Strength FGF21

    From the article:

    In a new study published in the scientific Journal of Clinical Investigation – Insight, the researchers show that cardio training on an exercise bike causes three times as large an increase in the production of the hormone FGF21 than strength training with weights. FGF21 has a lot of positive effects on metabolism.

    […]

    Endurance training on a bicycle has such a marked effect on the metabolic hormone that we know ought to take a closer look at whether this regulation of FGF21 is directly related to the health-improving effects of cardio exercise. FGF21’s potential as a drug against diabetes, obesity and similar metabolic disorders is currently being tested, so the fact that we are able to increase the production ourselves through training is interesting', Christoffer Clemmensen elaborates.

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  • Could the cure to alcoholism be a liver hormone modulated by aerobic exercise? FGF21 changes behavior of monkeys, reducing alcohol consumption by 50% newatlas.com
    Exercise Brain Behavior Addiction Aerobic FGF21

    From linked article:

    The researchers gave the monkeys a two-bottle choice between water and ethanol, and administered one group an analog of FGF21 to see what effect it had. Sure enough, the test monkeys drank 50 percent less alcohol than the control group. Similar tests in mice also saw a 50-percent reduction in alcohol consumption after being given either human FGF21 or an analog. Interestingly though, the mice and monkeys still chose the ethanol just as often as before, but they drank far less each time.

    Fibroblast growth factor 21 happens to be modulated by aerobic exercise:

    In a new study published in the scientific Journal of Clinical Investigation – Insight, the researchers show that cardio training on an exercise bike causes three times as large an increase in the production of the hormone FGF21 than strength training with weights. FGF21 has a lot of positive effects on metabolism.

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  • Risk of death from breast cancer was 49 percent lower among women with higher running activity. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Cancer Breast Cancer Mortality Aerobic

    Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, with roughly 237,000 cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Nearly one-fourth of women with breast cancer will die within 15 years of diagnosis. Findings from a 2014 study indicate that running reduces the risk of death from breast cancer.

    Most public health organizations recommend that adults of all ages engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, or an equivalent combination of both. Most adults fall far short of these recommendations, however.

    Data from epidemiological, clinical, and mechanistic studies suggest that exercise reduces the risk of cancer-related death. However, scientists are unsure about how much or what type of exercise is best. Running and walking are both aerobic forms of exercise, but they differ in intensity, with running categorized as vigorous, and walking categorized as moderate. The authors of the study investigated whether running and walking differed in their effects on breast cancer-related death risk.

    The authors drew on data collected in the National Runners' and Walkers' Health Study, a long-term assessment of the health benefits associated with running and walking. They compared death rates among 272 runners and 714 walkers who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer, taking age, race, menopause, family history, breastfeeding and oral contraceptive use into account. They quantified the intensity of the women’s activity as metabolic equivalents, or METs, a measure of the rate of energy expended per unit of time.

    Over a nine-year period, the risk of death from breast cancer was 49 percent lower among women who ran or walked 1.8 to 3.6 MET-hours per day and 68 percent lower for 3.6 MET-hours per day, when compared to less active women. Among runners only, the risk of death from breast cancer was 14 percent lower among women who ran 1.07 to 1.8 MET-hours per day, 87 percent lower for 1.8 to 3.6 MET-hours per day had a, and 95 percent lower for 3.6 hours or more per day, when compared to those who ran for less than 1.07 MET-hours per day.

    The findings indicate that running promotes greater survival among women who have had breast cancer. The authors noted that the amount of exercise that provided the greatest protection exceeded current guidelines, suggesting that breast cancer survival could be increased by engaging in greater exercise doses than recommended. Other behaviors that may promote breast cancer survival include dietary modifications, especially time-restricted eating. Learn more about the effects of time-restricted eating on breast cancer survival in this clip featuring Dr. Ruth Patterson.

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  • 12-week exercise program of 40-60 minutes of jogging three days per week significantly improved testosterone and systolic b.p. in overweight men www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Hormones Sex Testosterone Blood Pressure Aerobic Weight Loss

    40-60 minutes 3x per week:

    • Systolic blood pressure: 134 ± 4 vs. 119 ± 3 (after)
    • Diastolic blood pressure: 85 ± 2 vs. 75 ± 1 (after)

    From the article:

    At baseline, the overweight/obese men had significantly lower total, free and bioavailable testosterone level than normal weight men. All of the study volunteers completed a 12-week aerobic exercise plan that entailed 40-60 minutes of walking or jogging on one to three days per week.

    […]

    I think decrease in body mass is one of the factors for increasing serum testosterone levels,“ said Hiroshi Kumagai, lead researcher on the study. "However, the degree of weight loss is small, and we found that the increase in vigorous physical activity was independently associated with the increase in serum testosterone levels. So, it seems the increase in physical activity, especially vigorous physical activity, is the main factor for increasing serum testosterone levels.”

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  • Why HIIT is so effective for the heart and rhythm disorders: improves a number of mechanisms allowing cells to pump out vs. store calcium www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Heart Disease Aerobic

    Disorders like atrial fibrillation and other rhythm disorders may be particularly advantaged by improvements to calcium management induced by HIIT:

    “The interval training also significantly improved the rats' conditioning. After the training period, their fitness level was actually better than that of the untrained rats that hadn’t had a heart attack,” says Stølen.

    […]

    “We found that interval training improves a number of mechanisms that allow calcium to be pumped out of the cells and stored more efficiently inside the cells. The leakage from the calcium stores inside the cells also stopped in the interval-trained rats,” says Stølen.

    The effect was clear when the researchers tried to induce ventricular fibrillation in the diseased rat hearts: they only succeeded at this in one of nine animals that had completed interval training. By comparison, they had no problems inducing fibrillation in all the rats with heart failure who had not exercised.

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  • Aerobic exercise (wheel running) prevents cancer tumor formation, growth, and cachexia (cancer weight loss) in mice www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Cancer Immune System Aerobic IL-6

    Effect of aerobic exercise on cancer in mice:

    Training mice regularly on a wheel (the mouse version of a treadmill) decreased the growth of multiple types of tumors, including skin, liver, and lung cancers. Furthermore, mice that exercised regularly had a smaller chance of developing cancer in the first place. The beneficial effects of running went beyond tumor formation and growth, extending to cancer-associated weight loss, a process termed cachexia that is seen in cancer patients. Mice that exercised regularly showed no signs of cancer-associated weight loss in the researchers' lung cancer mouse model.

    Myokine signaling from the muscles:

    The researchers say that, the production of adrenaline results in a mobilization of immune cells, specifically one type of immune cell called a Natural Killer (NK) cell, to patrol the body. These NK cells are recruited to the site of the tumor by the protein IL-6, secreted by active muscles. The NK cells can then infiltrate the tumor, slowing or completely preventing its growth. Importantly, the researchers note that injecting the mice with either adrenaline or IL-6 without the exercise proved insufficient to inhibit cancer development, underlining the importance of the effects derived only from regular exercise in the mice.

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  • High-intensity interval training is time-efficient and effective: 10 minute sprints at 95% of maximal heart rate just as effective as conventional www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Aerobic

    From the article:

    “We have shown that interval training does not have to be ‘all out’ in order to be effective,” says Professor Martin Gibala. “Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard stationary bike with about one minute of rest in between, three times a week, works as well in improving muscle as many hours of conventional long-term biking less strenuously.”

    HIT means doing a number of short bursts of intense exercise with short recovery breaks in between. The authors have already shown with young healthy college students that this produces the same physical benefits as conventional long duration endurance training despite taking much less time (and amazingly, actually doing less exercise!) However, their previous work used a relatively extreme set-up that involved “all out” pedaling on a specialized laboratory bicycle. The new study used a standard stationary bicycle and a workload which was still above most people’s comfort zone -about 95% of maximal heart rate – but only about half of what can be achieved when people sprint at an all-out pace.

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  • High-intensity interval training reduces the growth of colon cancer cells www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Cancer Inflammation Aerobic

    From the article:

    Exercise may play a role in reducing the growth of colon cancer cells according to new research. The study found that after a short session of high intensity interval training (HIIT), growth of colon cancer cells was reduced, and this also increased indicators of inflammation.

    […]

    “We have shown that exercise may play a role in inhibiting the growth of colon cancer cells. After an acute bout of HIIT there were specific increases in inflammation immediately after exercise, which are hypothesised to be involved in reducing the number of cancer cells.

    This suggests that a physically active lifestyle may be important in tackling human colorectal tumours. We would now like to look at how these changes in growth occur and understand the mechanisms by which biomarkers in the blood can impact cell growth."

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  • Higher-than-normal blood sugar blunts some aerobic adaptations resulting from aerobic exercise
    Exercise Diabetes Blood Sugar Aerobic Strength

    From the article:

    Muscle tissue can remodel itself, which is one reason why exercise becomes easier when we do it regularly, Lessard says. Over time, aerobic exercise such as running or swimming can alter muscle fibers to become more efficient at using oxygen during exercise. “We also grow new blood vessels to allow more oxygen to be delivered to the muscle, which helps to increase our aerobic fitness levels,” she says.

    The scientists propose that high levels of blood sugar may prevent muscle remodeling in part by modifying the “extracellular matrix” proteins in the space between the muscle cells, where blood vessels are formed.

    Adapting to aerobic exercise as though it were strength training:

    The scientists found that these JNK pathway signals were getting crossed in the hyperglycemic mice, by activating pathways associated with strength training, even though the mice were performing aerobic exercise. “As a result, the muscles of hyperglycemic animals have bigger fibers and fewer blood vessels, which is more typical of strength training, rather than aerobic training,” Lessard says.

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  • Long-term distance cycling reduces hallmarks of aging: thymic involution - "cyclists' thymuses were making as many T cells as those of a young person" www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Aging Cholesterol Blood Pressure Aerobic Thymus Thymic Involution

    From the article:

    The study recruited 125 amateur cyclists aged 55 to 79, 84 of which were male and 41 were female. The men had to be able to cycle 100 km in under 6.5 hours, while the women had to be able to cycle 60 km in 5.5 hours.

    […]

    The cyclists also did not increase their body fat or cholesterol levels with age and the men’s testosterone levels also remained high, suggesting that they may have avoided most of the male menopause.

    More surprisingly, the study also revealed that the benefits of exercise extend beyond muscle as the cyclists also had an immune system that did not seem to have aged either.

    An organ called the thymus, which makes immune cells called T cells, starts to shrink from the age of 20 and makes less T cells. In this study, however, the cyclists' thymuses were making as many T cells as those of a young person.

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  • Gene enhancers activated by exercise are hotspots of inter-individual variation and linked to cognitive abilities www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Epigenetics Aging Aerobic

    From the article:

    The scientists discovered that after completing the endurance training program, the structure of many enhancers in the skeletal muscle of the young men had been altered. By connecting the enhancers to genetic databases, they discovered that many of the regulated enhancers have already been identified as hotspots of genetic variation between individuals – hotspots that have been associated with human disease.

    The scientists speculate that the beneficial effects of exercise on organs distant from muscle, like the brain, may largely be mediated by regulating the secretion of muscle factors. In particular, they found that exercise remodels enhancer activity in skeletal muscle that are linked to cognitive abilities, which opens for the identification of exercise training-induced secreted muscle factors targeting the brain.

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  • Pharmacological activation of PPAR delta boosts endurance by 70% in mice and other benefits: resistance to weight gain, better insulin responsiveness www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Genetics Aerobic

    From the article:

    Developing endurance means being able to sustain an aerobic activity for longer periods of time. As people become more fit, their muscles shift from burning carbohydrates (glucose) to burning fat. So researchers assumed that endurance is a function of the body’s increasing ability to burn fat, though details of the process have been murky. Previous work by the Evans lab into a gene called PPAR delta (PPARD) offered intriguing clues: mice genetically engineered to have permanently activated PPARD became long-distance runners who were resistant to weight gain and highly responsive to insulin – all qualities associated with physical fitness. The team found that a chemical compound called GW1516 (GW) similarly activated PPARD, replicating the weight control and insulin responsiveness in normal mice that had been seen in the engineered ones.

    […]

    Mice in the control group could run about 160 minutes before exhaustion. Mice on the drug, however, could run about 270 minutes – about 70 percent longer. For both groups, exhaustion set in when blood sugar (glucose) dropped to around 70 mg/dl, suggesting that low glucose levels (hypoglycemia) are responsible for fatigue.

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  • Aerobic exercise following concussion reduces risk of persistent symptoms by 48 percent in adolescents. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Concussion Development Aerobic TBI

    “Sport-related concussion is a public health problem, particularly in adolescents.

    Male and female adolescent athletes (aged 13–18 years) presenting within 10 days of sport-related concussion were randomly assigned to individualized sub-symptom threshold aerobic or stretching exercise at least 20 min daily, for up to 4 weeks after injury.

    On survival analysis, controlling for sex, site, and mean daily exercise time, patients assigned to aerobic exercise were more likely to recover within 4 weeks after injury compared with those assigned to stretching exercise, with a 48% reduced risk of persistent post-concussive symptoms (hazard ratio for stretching vs aerobic exercise of 0·52 [95% CI 0·28–0·97], p=0·039).

    This multicenter study found that early treatment with sub-symptom threshold aerobic exercise safely speeds recovery from sport-related concussion and reduces the risk for persistent post-concussive symptoms, an important result given the impact of delayed recovery on adolescent quality of life."

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  • Exercise reverses aspects of brain aging: improvements in executive function, mental flexibility, verbal fluency, and blood flow to the brain neurosciencenews.com
    Exercise Brain Aging Aerobic

    Aging drives an array of physiological, functional, and mental changes in the human body. It is the primary risk factor for many chronic diseases in humans, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular disease. Findings from a 2020 study suggest that exercise reverses some of the harmful effects of aging on the brain.

    Scientists have identified strong links between regular physical exercise and brain health. Some of the mechanisms that drive the beneficial effects of exercise on the brain include increases in brain volume and connectivity, improved blood flow, enhanced synaptic plasticity, and increased neurogenesis – the formation of new neurons.

    The intervention study involved 206 healthy, cognitively intact middle-aged and older adults (average age, 66 years) with low physical activity levels. The participants engaged in a supervised aerobic exercise program three days per week, gradually increasing from 20 to 40 minutes over a period of six months. They also completed an unsupervised exercise session one day per week during the six-month period. The authors of the study assessed the participants' cognitive performance, cerebrovascular function, and overall fitness on three separate occasions over a period of 12 months.

    After completing the six months of exercise, the authors of the study noted that the study participants improved by nearly 6 percent on measures of working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. They improved by nearly 2.5 percent on tests of verbal fluency, comparable to abilities seen in person five years younger. Blood flow to the brain increased by nearly 3 percent, suggesting that cerebrovascular function is a critical aspect of maintaining or improving memory and verbal skills.

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  • Treadmill running at 80% maximal aerobic capacity for 1 hour 5 days per week enhanced learning and vascularization of the motor cortex (primate study) www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Aerobic

    From the article:

    “We found that monkeys who exercised regularly at an intensity that would improve fitness in middle-aged people learned to do tests of cognitive function faster and had greater blood volume in the brain’s motor cortex than their sedentary counterparts,” Dr. Cameron said. “This suggests people who exercise are getting similar benefits.” For the study, the researchers trained adult female cynomolgus monkeys to run on a human-sized treadmill at 80 percent of their individual maximal aerobic capacity for one hour each day, five days per week, for five months.

    […]

    “Monkeys that exercised learned to remove the well covers twice as quickly as control animals,” Dr. Cameron said. “Also, they were more engaged in the tasks and made more attempts to get the rewards, but they also made more mistakes.

    […]

    When the researchers examined tissue samples from the brain’s motor cortex, they found that mature monkeys that ran had greater vascular volume than middle-aged runners or sedentary animals. But those blood flow changes reversed in monkeys that were sedentary after exercising for five months.

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  • Six months of daily aerobic exercise directly impacts tests of executive function, mental flexibility, self-correction, and verbal fluency www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Aging Memory Aerobic

    From the article:

    Participants were enrolled in a supervised aerobic exercise program held three days a week. As they progressed through the program, they increased their workout from an average of 20 minutes a day to an average of at least 40 minutes. In addition, people were asked to work out on their own once a week.

    Researchers found that after six months of exercise, participants improved by 5.7% on tests of executive function, which includes mental flexibility and self-correction. Verbal fluency, which tests how quickly you can retrieve information, increased by 2.4%.

    […]

    Before and after six months of aerobic activity, the participants' average peak blood flow to the brain was measured using ultrasound. Blood flow rose from an average of 51.3 centimeters per second (cm/sec) to an average of 52.7 cm/sec, a 2.8% increase. The increase in blood flow with exercise was associated with a number of modest but significant improvements in aspects of thinking that usually decline as we age, Poulin said.

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  • Combining aerobic exercise and strength training may be the best strategy for improving healthspan. www.bmj.com
    Exercise Cancer Heart Disease Aerobic Strength

    Current public health guidelines recommend that adults engage in regular physical activity for optimal health. Findings from a new study suggest that a combination of both aerobic and strength activities reduces the risk of death from all causes as well as specific causes.

    According to the guidelines, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, or an equivalent combination of both. They should also engage in muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity on two days or more each week.

    The population-based cohort study, which involved nearly 480,000 adults, drew on data from the National Health Interview Survey, an ongoing, cross-sectional survey of people living in the United States. The study participants reported how much leisure time aerobic and strength physical activity they engaged in each week. Then the authors of the study categorized them as having insufficient activity, aerobic activity only, strength activity only, and both aerobic and strengthening activities, based on the guidelines.

    The authors found that the participants who engaged in recommended amounts of aerobic or muscle-strengthening activity had a lower risk of death from all causes, and these benefits were even greater if they engaged in both types of activities. They noted similar reductions in risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory tract diseases.

    These findings suggest that adherence to public health guidelines for exercise reduce the risk of disease and death and provide support for interventions to improve compliance.

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  • BDNF from aerobic exercise may reduce loss of photoreceptor cells in macular degeneration: exercise reduced cell death by 50% in animal model www.sciencedaily.com
    Aging Eyes Aerobic BDNF

    From the article:

    In the current study, the scientists trained mice to run on a treadmill for one hour per day, five days per week, for two weeks. After the animals were exposed to toxic bright light – a commonly used model of retinal degeneration – they exercised for two more weeks. The exercised animals lost only half the number of photoreceptor cells as animals that spent the equivalent amount of time on a stationary treadmill.

    Additionally, the retinal cells of exercised mice were more responsive to light and had higher levels of a growth- and health-promoting protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which previous studies have linked to the beneficial effects of exercise. When the scientists blocked the receptors for BDNF in the exercised mice, they discovered that retinal function in the exercised mice was as poor as in the inactive mice, effectively eliminating the protective effects of the aerobic exercise.

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  • BDNF response in obese subjects is better under in high-intensity conditions rather than moderate-intensity: addressing cognitive dysfunction in obese www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Obesity Aerobic BDNF Lactate

    From the article:

    Results of study, published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, show that the BDNF response to acute high-intensity interval exercise was greater than continuous moderate-intensity exercise in obese subjects when compared to normal-weight subjects. Similarly, although acute high-intensity interval exercise induced greater blood lactate and plasma cortisol levels than continuous moderate-intensity exercise, obese subjects produced less blood lactate, but showed no difference in cortisol than normal-weight subjects.

    These findings suggest that acute high-intensity interval exercise may be a more effective protocol to upregulate BDNF expression in an obese population, independent of increased lactate and cortisol levels.

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  • Six weeks of 20-minute high-intensity interval training significantly improves "high-interference" memory, large fitness gains associated w/ more BDNF www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Performance Memory Aerobic BDNF

    From the article:

    Scientists have found that six weeks of intense exercise – short bouts of interval training over the course of 20 minutes – showed significant improvements in what is known as high-interference memory, which, for example, allows us to distinguish our car from another of the same make and model.

    […]

    They also found that participants who experienced greater fitness gains also experienced greater increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports the growth, function and survival of brain cells.

    “Improvements in this type of memory from exercise might help to explain the previously established link between aerobic exercise and better academic performance,” says Jennifer Heisz, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster and lead author of the study.

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  • Neural plasticity induced in visual cortex by cycling may improve recovery from amblyopia ("lazy eye") — previously thought untreatable in adults
    Exercise Brain Eyes Aerobic

    From the article:

    Lunghi and Sale put 20 adults through this test twice; in one deprivation test, participants with one eye patched watched a movie while relaxing in a chair. In the other test, participants with one eye patched exercised on a stationary bike for ten-minute intervals during the movie. The results were clear: brain plasticity was enhanced by the exercise.

    “We found that if, during the two hours of eye patching, the subject intermittently cycles, the perceptual effect of eye patching on binocular rivalry is stronger compared to a condition in which, during the two hours of patching, the subject watches a movie while sitting on a chair. That is, after physical activity, the eye that was patched is strongly potentiated, indicating increased levels of brain plasticity.”

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  • Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor from aerobic exercise associated with appetite suppression, weight loss, and improved blood pressure www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Obesity Blood Pressure Aerobic Weight Loss BDNF

    From the article:

    The team evaluated blood levels of BDNF before and after a three-month program of aerobic exercise in 15 overweight or obese men and women. The seven men and eight women, ages 26 to 51, worked out on a treadmill and bicycle. They were asked about their calorie intake and told to continue eating their usual number of calories. The participants were unaware that one of the study’s objectives was to evaluate changes in food intake.

    At the end of the study, the subjects had decreased BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure, the data showed. They also reported consuming fewer calories than at the beginning of the study. Over the three months, BDNF levels greatly increased. This higher the concentration of BDNF, the less the subject’s intake of calories and the greater the weight loss, Araya said.

    Thus, it is possible that increases in BDNF suppress appetite, she said. They did not test appetite suppression directly, but some past studies have shown that aerobic exercise suppresses appetite.

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  • Exercise improved cognitive function in overweight children. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Intelligence Aerobic

    Exercise benefits many aspects of cognitive function. Evidence suggests that children who engage in physical activity typically perform better in school. Findings from a 2011 study showed that exercise improved cognitive function in overweight children.

    The intervention study involved 171 sedentary, overweight children between the ages of 7 and 11 years old. The authors of the study enrolled the children into one of three programs: a “low dose” 20-minute exercise program, a “high-dose” 40-minute exercise program, or a control (sedentary) program. The exercise programs were provided on school days only, for approximately three months. None of the children received any additional tutoring beyond their normal lessons. At the end of the intervention, the children took standardized cognition and achievement tests. Twenty of the children underwent functional MRI (fMRI) testing.

    The results of the standardized tests demonstrated that exercise improved the children’s cognitive function in a dose-dependent manner. Intelligence scores increased among the children in the exercising groups, especially among those in the high dose (40-minute) group, whose scores increased approximately 3.8 points. No improvements were observed among those in the control group.

    Analysis of the fMRIs revealed that the exercising children exhibited higher levels of activity in their prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with complex thinking, decision making, and social behavior – indicators of improved cognitive skills.

    These findings suggest that exercise can benefit children’s cognitive performance and underscore the importance of physical activity programs in schools.

    Read more
  • Exercise benefits men about to undergo cancer treatment. www.eurekalert.org
    Exercise Cancer Aerobic

    Exercise reduces the risk of developing cancer and improves the quality of life among cancer survivors. A recent study shows that exercise reduces the harmful effects observed among men about to undergo androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer.

    Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among men living in the United States. The first line of treatment for prostate cancer is commonly ADT, which involves the surgical or pharmaceutical suppression of serum testosterone levels. Side effects of ADT include body fat increases, muscle mass losses, and changes in cardiopulmonary and metabolic fitness.

    The study involved 50 men who were about to start ADT. Half of the men engaged in supervised aerobic and resistance exercise twice a week for an hour for a three-month period, followed by three months of unsupervised exercise. The other half, which served as a control group, maintained their regular activity levels. The authors of the study assessed the men for changes in fat mass, biomarkers, cardiopulmonary fitness, energy levels, and quality of life at the three- and six-month time-points in the study.

    At the three-month point, the men who had engaged in the exercise program did not see reductions in body fat, but they did demonstrate improvements in their respiratory fitness and energy levels. After the exercise program ended, the exercising men had improved quality of life and reduced markers of cardiovascular disease risk, compared to the control group. These findings suggest that low-risk interventions such as exercise can benefit men about to undergo ADT.

    Read more
  • Six months of aerobic exercise improved brain glucose metabolism, improved executive function, & increased cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Alzheimer's Aerobic

    An abundance of scientific evidence demonstrates that exercise benefits physical health and improves cognitive function in people of all ages. A new study has found that aerobic exercise improves brain glucose metabolism and executive function in older adults who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

    Impaired brain glucose uptake and metabolism are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, and their manifestation typically precedes the onset of clinical symptoms. Impaired brain glucose uptake also plays a causal role in tau tangle formation, another hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Executive function involves higher-level cognitive skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. A person who experiences loss of executive function may have problems with planning, organization, flexible thinking, social behavior, decision making, emotional control, and concentration.

    The randomized, controlled, exercise intervention involved 23 cognitively normal, sedentary adults between the ages of 45 and 80 years old who had a family history or genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Eleven of the participants engaged in a moderate-intensity exercise program in which they walked on a treadmill three times per week for 26 weeks. The remaining participants made no changes to their physical activity levels.

    At the end of the study, the participants who engaged in the exercise program experienced improved cardiorespiratory fitness and improved brain glucose metabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex region of their brains. They also spent less time engaged in sedentary activities compared to those who did not change their activity levels. Furthermore, the adults who exercised demonstrated improvements in their executive functioning. Other recent research suggests that aerobic exercise, especially if it includes high-intensity interval training, has the potential to enhance memory in older adults.

    Taken together, these findings suggest that lifestyle modifications that include exercise may be beneficial in improving cognitive function in people at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, sauna use mimics the effects of exercise and may be useful in reducing Alzheimer’s disease risk. Learn more in this clip featuring sauna expert Dr. Jari Laukanen.

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  • Higher physical activity halves risk of depression in a large study of more than 395,000 adults. www.sciencedirect.com
    Exercise Depression Neurons Aerobic

    Exercise and other forms of physical activity elicit a wide range of beneficial health effects. Findings from a large study in Sweden suggest that physical activity reduces the risk of depression.

    The observational study involved more than 395,000 people who were followed over a period of 21 years. The study participants were either skiers who partook in Vasaloppet, an annual long-distance cross-country ski race held annually in Sweden (physically active), or non-skiers (physically inactive). Vasaloppet skiers typically exercise a minimum of four hours weekly and have a high level of physical fitness.

    The findings indicated that physical activity was associated with a 50 percent lower risk of developing depression during a 10-year period compared to physical inactivity. Adjustments for age, sex, and education did not alter the results.

    Some have suggested that the association between higher level of physical activity and lower risk of depression might be an artifact of reverse causation. For example, people with depression – especially those whose condition is undiagnosed – might be less likely to engage in physical activity. However, Mendelian randomization studies and data from molecular, genetic, and interventional trials suggests that the relationship is indeed causal.

    Check out our in-depth video covering exercise and depression, including data from randomized controlled trials, Mendelian randomization trials, mechanistic studies, and even ideal exercise parameters.

    An easy take-home message: Aerobic exercise at 70 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate for 40 minutes or more may be critical for boosting brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – a growth factor that controls and promotes the growth of new neurons.

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  • Yoga increases the volume of a brain region involved in learning and memory and changes several brain regions involved in emotional regulation. www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Depression Vegetarian Aerobic Breathing Technique

    The benefits of physical activity, especially aerobic exercise such as running, swimming, or cycling, have positive effects on brain health and function. A recent review suggests that yoga has similar effects on the brain.

    Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that engages the mind and body through physical poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. It incorporates aspects of mindfulness not commonly present in other forms of exercise.

    The authors of the review focused on 11 cross-sectional, longitudinal, or intervention studies examining the effects of yoga on the brain’s structures, function, and blood flow based on MRI, functional MRI, and SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography). They found that yoga had beneficial effects on the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and the default mode network. These areas of the brain play critical roles in memory processing, emotional control, and decision making.

    The authors identified a few confounders in their review. People who practice yoga are more likely to be physically active, non-obese, and well-educated. They are also more likely to follow vegetarian or plant-based diets. These lifestyle behaviors have been shown to have beneficial effects on brain health.

    Overall, however, the findings from this review suggest that exercise interventions like yoga may be a useful strategy to mitigate age-related changes within the brain associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.

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  • Aerobic exercise combined with frequent sauna use has a synergistic effect on lowering mortality risks. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Heat Stress Sauna Aerobic

    Aerobic exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure of the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. Findings from a study in Finland indicate that good cardiorespiratory fitness combined with frequent sauna use may work in a synergistic fashion to reduce cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

    Sauna use exposes the body to extreme temperatures that stress the body, eliciting physiological responses that are remarkably similar to those experienced during moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise. Prospective studies conducted in Finland revealed that men who used the sauna four to seven times per week were 50 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular-related causes and 40 percent less likely to die from all causes of premature death.

    In a separate analysis, data from the Finish cohort also demonstrated that a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness or frequent sauna use were both independently associated with reduced cardiovascular-related mortality and all-cause mortality. In addition, cardiorespiratory fitness in combination with frequent sauna bathing (three to seven sessions per week) had a synergistic effect on lowering cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. The strongest reductions in mortality were found in people with high cardiorespiratory fitness and high frequent sauna bathing, followed by high cardiorespiratory fitness and low frequent sauna bathing, and then low cardiorespiratory fitness and high frequent sauna bathing.

    Sauna bathing is safe for most adults and can be practiced before or after aerobic exercise to augment the beneficial effects of exercise.

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  • 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training improves memory by 30% in older adults between the ages of 60 and 88. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Brain Aging Memory Dementia Aerobic

    Cognitive decline and associated memory loss are common features of aging, affecting approximately 16 million people living in the United States. A recent study found that high-intensity interval training improves memory in older adults.

    The study involved 64 sedentary older adults between the ages of 60 and 88 years who were randomized to participate in 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training, moderate continuous training, or stretching (which served as the control group). Each of the participants' memory and executive functions were assessed before the training began.

    The participants in the high-intensity group performed four intervals of high-intensity exercise on a treadmill for four minutes, followed by a period of recovery. The participants in the moderate continuous group performed a single set of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for approximately 50 minutes.

    At the end of the study period, participants who engaged in high-intensity exercise performed better on memory tests than those who engaged in moderate continuous training or stretching only. The participants who saw the greatest fitness gains also saw the greatest memory improvements. Both high-intensity interval and moderate continuous exercise improved executive function in the participants.

    These findings suggest that aerobic exercise, especially if it includes high-intensity interval training, has the potential to enhance memory in older adults.

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  • Increased physical activity may significantly reduce the risk of depression, even among people who are genetically predisposed to depression. www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Depression Aerobic

    Approximately 322 million people – more than 4 percent of the global population – currently live with depression, the most common mental health condition worldwide. Scientific evidence indicates that roughly one-third to one-half of the risk for developing depression is due to genetic influences. A new study suggests that physical activity may reduce the risk of developing depression, even among people who are genetically predisposed to the condition.

    The study was based on genomic data and lifestyle surveys collected from the electronic health records of nearly 8,000 people enrolled in a large healthcare system in the United States. Findings from the study indicated that for every additional four hours of physical activity per week – roughly 35 minutes per day – the risk of having a new episode of depression were reduced by 17 percent. The protective effects of physical activity against depression were observed with both high- and low-intensity activities, including aerobic exercise, dance, yoga, and stretching.

    The FMF team put together a video covering the clinical and mechanistic evidence explaining why exercise may help prevent and treat depression. The video also presents evidence from Mendelian randomization studies showing that people who are genetically predisposed to depression are not less likely to engage in physical activity.

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  • Running associated with lower all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. bjsm.bmj.com
    Exercise Cancer Heart Disease Depression Aerobic Cardiovascular

    Public health experts recommend that people get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, such as walking, running, or cycling, each week for optimal health. Running, in particular, is associated with improved aerobic fitness and cardiovascular function. A recent meta-analysis found that running, even for short periods, reduced the risk of mortality from all causes, especially cardiovascular- and cancer-related deaths.

    The authors of the study analyzed data from 14 studies of six prospective cohorts involving more than 230,000 people. The cohorts were followed over a span of 5 to 35 years. The data were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, other physical activity besides running, body fatness, health status, and unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and poor diet.

    They found that running was associated with a 27 percent lower all-cause mortality, 30 percent lower cardiovascular mortality, and 23 percent lower cancer mortality. Even the smallest amount of time spent running (less than 50 minutes per week) was linked to a significant reduction in all-cause mortality.

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  • Exercising while fasted induces adaptations to mitochondria in muscle/fat tissue including increased fatty acid metabolism that is blunted by feeding. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Exercise Metabolism Fasting Triglycerides Aerobic

    Exercising while fasted induces adaptations to mitochondria in muscle and adipose tissue including increased fatty acid metabolism that is blunted by pre-exercise feeding (meta-analysis of 46 clinical studies).

    Exercising in a fasted state increased the release of fatty acids stored in adipose tissue and the use of them for energy in muscle and adipose tissue (ie. fat burning). It also increased the use of intramuscular triglycerides over glycogen in muscle tissue. Exercise while fasted also caused mitochondria to increase gene activity in genes related to fatty acid metabolism making them more efficient as using fat for energy. These adaptations were blunted by pre-exercise feeding.

    Pre-exercise feeding did enhance performance in long-duration exercise (> 60 minutes) but had no effect on aerobic training shorter than 60 minutes. Pre-exercise feeding also slightly enhanced anaerobic exercise (ie. run until exhaustion) but had no effect on high-intensity interval training.

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  • Long-term reduction in hyperglycemia in advanced type 1 diabetes: the value of induced aerobic glycolysis with BCG vaccinations www.nature.com
    Diabetes Blood Sugar Aerobic Autoimmunity

    Mycobacterium are among the oldest co-evolutionary partners of humans. The attenuated Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) strain has been administered globally for 100 years as a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG also shows promise as treatment for numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a randomized 8-year long prospective examination of type 1 diabetic subjects with long-term disease who received two doses of the BCG vaccine. After year 3, BCG lowered hemoglobin A1c to near normal levels for the next 5 years. The BCG impact on blood sugars appeared to be driven by a novel systemic and blood sugar lowering mechanism in diabetes. We observe a systemic shift in glucose metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, a state of high glucose utilization. Confirmation is gained by metabolomics, mRNAseq, and functional assays of cellular glucose uptake after BCG vaccinations. To prove BCG could induce a systemic change to promote accelerated glucose utilization and impact blood sugars, murine data demonstrated reduced blood sugars and aerobic induction in non-autoimmune mice made chemically diabetic. BCG via epigenetics also resets six central T-regulatory genes for genetic re-programming of tolerance. These findings set the stage for further testing of a known safe vaccine therapy for improved blood sugar control through changes in metabolism and durability with epigenetic changes even in advanced Type 1 diabetes.

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  • Exercise for cognitive brain health in aging | Neurology Clinical Practice cp.neurology.org
    Exercise Brain Aging Aerobic

    Abstract:

    Purpose of review - We systematically appraised randomized controlled trials proposing exercise to influence cognition in older adults to (1) assess the methodologic quality using Cochrane criteria; (2) describe various exercise dose measures and assess their relationship with improved cognitive performance; and (3) identify consistent patterns of reported effects on cognition.

    Recent findings: There was overall good methodologic quality in all 98 included studies. The assessment of the relationship between improved cognition and various measures of exercise dose (session duration, weekly minutes, frequency, total weeks, and total hours) revealed a significant correlation with total hours. Improvements in global cognition, processing speed/attention, and executive function were most stable and consistent.

    Summary: We found that exercising for at least 52 hours [over the course of 6 months is the minimum amount needed] is associated with improved cognitive performance in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Exercise modes supported by evidence are aerobic, resistance (strength) training, mind–body exercises, or combinations of these interventions.

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  • Lifestyle And Diet May Stop Or Reverse Prostate Cancer Progression (Dean Ornish Study) www.sciencedaily.com
    Exercise Cancer Diet Prostate Vitamin A Protein Aerobic

    FTA:

    The research team studied 93 men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer who had elected not to undergo conventional treatment for reasons unrelated to this study. The participants were randomly divided into either a group who were asked to make comprehensive changes in diet and lifestyle or a comparison group who were not asked to do so.

    […] After one year, the researchers found that PSA levels (a protein marker for prostate cancer) decreased in men in the group who made comprehensive lifestyle changes but increased in the comparison group. There was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and the changes in PSA. Also, they found that serum from the participants inhibited prostate tumor growth in vitro by 70 percent in the lifestyle-change group but only 9 percent in the comparison group. Again, there was a direct correlation between the degree of lifestyle change and the inhibition of prostate tumor growth.

    Participants in the lifestyle-change group were placed on a vegan diet consisting primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes supplemented with soy, vitamins and minerals. They participated in moderate aerobic exercise, yoga/meditation, and a weekly support group session.

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