Physical exercise boosts the body and the brain. This is shown by a study carried out on 10 pairs of twins. The more sedentary are in poorer health.
For some, Sunday rhymes with sofa, for others with jogging, yoga or tennis. If a recent study is to be believed, the second option should be favored. Indeed, the comparison of identical twins has shown that physical exercise modifies the body, but also the brain in depth. An association that is maintained in twins whose diet is the same, stress the researchers in the March edition of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
The proof by two
Physical activity is beneficial for the body, it is an established fact. But up to what point? So far, impossible to detail the benefits of sport compared to inactivity. And for good reason: it would be necessary to follow two people in all identical points who do not have the same hygiene of life.
To answer this question, a team from Jyvaskyla University (Finland) recruited monozygotic twins who played the same sports in childhood, but whose habits changed in adulthood. Since they share the same DNA, and generally grow up in the same environment, they can provide evidence that exercise influences health.
The twins participating in the study are part of the FinnTwin16 database. Since they were 16, and every year, they fill out questionnaires on their state of health and their lifestyle. Finnish researchers have kept records of those whose physical activity changed after leaving the family cocoon. The goal: for a twin to practice more sport than the other, but for their diet to be more or less similar. Only 10 pairs met these criteria.
Sport boosts gray matter
The 20 monozygotic twins were received in a laboratory. Their endurance capacity was measured, as was their body fat / muscle distribution and their insulin tolerance. Their brains were also scanned.
Sedentary twins are less enduring to effort and have more body fat. They also show signs of insulin resistance, which increases the risk of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes.
The differences also emerge on the pictures of their brain. Sporty twins have more brainpower. The difference is particularly marked in the areas involved in motor skills and coordination.
Physical and metabolic deviations are emerging rapidly, according to the researchers. These results also show that genetics and the environment do not necessarily have the priority when it comes to playing a sport. The kings of the sofa therefore no longer have an excuse to avoid Sunday jogging.
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