The above headline is from a June 2, 2010 article in the publication, Medill Reports Chicago, from the Medill School Northwestern University. This article, and several others on the same subject, were based upon a study published in the May 2010 journal “Science Translational Medicine”.
The results of the study basically show that even just 10 minutes of brisk exercise per day trigger metabolic changes that can last up to an hour and can have a positive effect on your health. The study also shows that those who are already fit get more benefit from their exercise than from those who are just starting out.
Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital, and one of the authors of the study showed that metabolic changes began in people after only 10 minutes on the treadmill, and were still measurable 60 minutes after people cooled down.
In this study 70 healthy people were put on a treadmill. The researchers found that more than 20 metabolites changed during exercise and caused naturally produced compounds involved in burning calories and fat as well as improving blood-sugar control.
Dr. Gregory Lewis, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the study spoke about how profound this study’s findings were by saying, “It’s basically like the ultimate intervention. Our large-scale objective is to try and unlock some of the mystery behind why exercise has such beneficial effects.” He added, “What other medicine can you think of that would be associated with living longer, better brain function, better cardiovascular function, better blood vessel function, less depression?”
Dr. Charles Burant, professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, who was not involved in the research responded to the study by saying, “We know that exercise is good for you; the question is why it is good for you, and this paper is a start of understanding this a little bit more.
Dr. Gerszten summed up the benefits of having this new type of information by saying, “The studies to date are really what we like to think of [as] the first comprehensive chemical snapshot of exercise. We have a chemical snapshot of what the more fit person looks like. Now we have to see if making someone’s metabolism look like that snapshot, whether or not that’s going to improve their performance.”
