Can three hours of exercise a week make a positive impact on your health? Science says yes! A recent study published in the Journal of Physiology by University of Ottawa professor Michael De Lisio shows that exercising at moderate intensity for one hour per session, three times a week, can improve the health of adults with obesity by changing the characteristics of their blood.
“We were able to show that six weeks of endurance exercise training, for example, cycling or running, can significantly decrease the number of stem cells with the potential to become inflammatory cells. This could reduce the negative health effects in adults with obesity,” explained De Lisio. “This is important because it shows for the first time in obese humans that exercise can alter the characteristics of blood-forming stem cells and provides a new explanation for how exercise could improve health in adults with obesity.”
Chronic inflammation is related to several of the negative health consequences of obesity, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.