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Studies Show You Can Have It All

July 29, 2014

Studies Show You Can Have It All—Looks, Smarts, and Long Life
By: Hope Osborn

Did you know that routine exercise can add years to your life? That isn’t news to most people. It is common knowledge routine exercise decreases health risks. By decreasing that risk, you decrease the risk of disease decreases risk of fatality from disease.

However decreasing risk is not the only way to lengthen life, and lengthening life is not the only positive effect of exercise. The next time you are not motivated enough by “decreasing health risks” to go jog on the treadmill or join the H.I.I.T. class, see if “increasing health” is more motivating.

Did you know that fitness-minded people who are obese live longer than non-fitness-minded people who are not obese?

During ten years, a variety of data was collected from approximately 650,000 people ages 21 to 90. Analysis of the data, published by researchers in 2012, showed that, regardless of gender or ethnicity, 150 mins. (recommended) to 300 mins. exercise a week adds about 3 ½ years to your life. If you double that time, you can add another year of life. (Moore, et. al.)

Did you know that walking improves creativity?

More than 60,000 people participated in a study published in the Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition that showed “100% of those who walked outside generated at least one novel high-quality analogy compared with 50% of those seated inside” (Oppezzo, et. al.). Furthermore, creativity improved to that extent whether you walked on a park trail or on a gym treadmill. Creativity from a walk is residual so you can walk and think afterwards. The study also showed that you can walk to blow off steam or to sing like a lark since mood doesn’t affect creativity. (Oppezzo, et. al.)

Did you know it is never too late in life to start exercising and still benefit?

In April, The New York Times posted Gretchen Reynolds article about a study reported to the American Medical Society for Sports medicine at their annual meeting. Participants of the study were 65+ years old showed normal skin biopsies for their age. During the study, the normally sedentary participants exercised twice a week for three months. New skin biopsies looked entirely different. Three months exercise had not only stopped the process of aging in both inner and outer layers of skin, it had actually reversed the process to the point of looking like that of 20-40 yr. olds. (Younger Skin)

Did you know that what one walk did to improve cognition a habit of walks will multiply over the span of your life?

A study showed that volunteers who had as young adults been able to run more than 10 mins. without stopping and who were considered the most fit, were the most cognitively fit in middle age, and, “For every additional minute that someone had been able to run as a young adult, he or she could usually remember about one additional word from the lists and make one fewer mistake in distinguishing colors and texts” (Early Fitness).

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Whether you are a trainer motivating a client or friend motivating a friend, instead of talking to them about disease prevention, try talking to them about body renovation. Or just tell them that exercise will give them a youthful appearance, long life, and smarts both now and later.

Works Cited

Moore, Steven, and et. al. “Leisure Time Physical Activity of Moderate to Vigorous Intensity and Mortality: A Large Pooled Cohort Analysis.” PLoS Med 9(11): e1001335. Web. 1 July 2014.

Oppezzo, Marily, and Daniel L. Schwartz. “Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect Of Walking On Creative Thinking.” Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition 40(4), 2014: 1142-1152. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 July 2014.

Reynolds, Gretchen. “Early Fitness Can Improve the Middle-Age Brain.” The New York Times, 7 May 2014. The New York Times Company, 2014. Web. 1 July 2014.

Reynolds, Gretchen. “Younger Skin Through Exercise.” The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2014. The New York Times Company, 2014. Web. 1 July 2014.