Exercise aid to eat healthy.
a healthy diet and proper exercise play a key role in the treatment and prevention of obesity, however, yet little is known about the relationship that exists between the two factors. Now, a new study reveals that the increased levels of physical activity is associated with an improvement in the quality of the diet.
-The study has been published in the magazine ‘ Obesity Reviews ’
Spain, 2011-December Spain, there are many questions that arise when someone intends to lose weight. would it be advisable to begin with diet and exercise, or to the contrary? And on the other hand, is how much is could both activities offset between them?
Would know the interaction between the practice of exercise and a healthy diet improve preventive and therapeutic for obesity, strategies to enhance current approach and treatment schemes ”, explains to SINC Miguel Alonso Alonso, researcher at Harvard University (USA) who has published a work of bibliographic collection on this issue.
Data from epidemiological studies suggest that the tendency to follow a healthy diet and to make appropriate physical exercise amounts tend to coexist in the same individual. In addition, the increased levels of physical activity is often associated with an improvement in the quality of the diet. parallel
the practice of exercise helps resist multiple temptations food.
the exercise brings benefits such as increased sensitivity to physiological signals of satiety, which affects a better control of appetite, but also modifies the hedónicas responses to stimuli from food. Therefore the benefits could be divided into those that occur in the short term – metabolic dominated –, and those that appear to long term – of dominant behavioral –.
Physical activity seems to have a facilitating role of dietary behaviors aimed at the monitoring of a healthy diet ”, says Alonso Alonso. in fact, in the treatment of obesity when adding exercise to a slimming diet tends to increase the success of the intervention and facilitates compliance with long term diet ”.
The authors conclude that it is important that social policies promote and facilitate the sport and physical activity in the general population, both in the field of education, and in the urban environment or in daily life – through the use of public transport or access to pedestrian areas and sports facilities –.
The exercise modifies the brain
Both nutrition and physical activity are behaviors, and are therefore determined by cognitive processes that arise as a result of the joint activity of brain areas. Earlier studies already assessed the changes in the brain and the cognitive functions in relation to the practice of exercise: regular physical activity produces changes in the role and structure of the brain.
Experts suggest that these changes seem to have some specificity. The practice of regular exercise improves performance in tests that measure the State of executive functions and increases the amount of grey matter and connections in prefrontal areas ”, argues Harvard researcher.
Between executive functions is inhibitory control, basically the ability to delete inappropriate or inconsistent with an objective responses – the opposite would be impulsiveness –, which makes it possible to change behavior or self-regulate her.
In relation to the weight loss and maintenance in the long term, several recent studies suggest that executive functions such as inhibitory control and optimal functioning of prefrontal areas of the brain could be key to succeed in this process, which consists, to a large extent, a behavioral change. Inhibitory control could also help to prevent the gain of weight in healthy people.
The practice of exercise effect over time Enhancer of executive functions, including inhibitory control capacity, which would help resist multiple nutritional temptations that appear every day in this society where food, especially the hypercaloric, is becoming more pervasive ”He stressed.
Spain, leader in obesity
Obesity has grown in Spain at an alarming rate in recent years, to the extent that the prevalence of obesity in several regions of Spain is higher than many areas of USA, traditionally regarded as the country paradigm of obesity in the Western world.
Furthermore, Spain leads along with other Mediterranean countries childhood obesity in Europe. Experts claim the urgency that the society aware of the problem and join efforts to prevent and treat obesity at all levels.
Bibliographic reference:
R. j. Joseph, M. Alonso-Alonso, D. S. Bond, a. Pascual-Leone and g. l. Blackburn. The connection between physical activity and eating behavior neurocognitive ”. Obesity Reviews 12, 800 – 812; October 2011.
