April 13, 2021, 3:34 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Our childhood shapes us like no other time in life. A new study now shows how important healthy eating and exercise are in young years: Those who don’t grow up with them can feel the effects both mentally and physically as adults.
Junk food, sweets, no fruits and vegetables: An unhealthy diet as a child can have dire consequences—especially when combined with too little exercise. A new study with mice suggests that an unhealthy lifestyle in early years can even have severe impacts in adulthood.
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First-time study on the combined effects of unhealthy diet and lack of exercise
Researchers at the University of California examined how a healthy diet and exercise in young years affect later life. They also studied what happens when both are neglected. Although both factors have been researched individually, they had not been studied together, explained study leader Marcell Cadney in the journal EurekAlert!
Cadney and his colleagues conducted a study with young mice up to their sexual maturity. They divided the animals into four groups: mice that could move freely in a running wheel and those that could not, as well as mice that were fed a healthy diet and those given high-fat and high-sugar foods modeled after a “Western” diet. After several weeks, the researchers fed all mice healthy foods and provided all animals with running wheels. They then conducted behavioral analyses, measured aerobic capacity based on maximum oxygen uptake (a way to assess endurance), and examined the animals’ hormone levels.
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And they came to astonishing results. The study suggests that exercise at a young age not only had a positive impact on muscle and brain mass in adult mice but also minimized anxious behavior. Animals that received a high-fat and high-sugar diet as juveniles became fatter. They also reacted more strongly to unhealthy foods as adults.
In a previous study, the researchers had already found that consuming too much fat and sugar in childhood can change the microbiome for life, even if one eats healthier later. The research team now wants to investigate whether fat or sugar is the more harmful factor in early childhood nutrition. Although both studies were conducted only on mice, they provide many important insights into children’s upbringing. The results also help better understand the impact of sufficient exercise and dietary changes in childhood on later obesity, according to the researchers’ conclusion.
Relevance of study results greater than ever
The study shows how important a healthy diet and sufficient exercise in young years are for later life, especially the latter aspect. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, physical education in schools, club sports, and active leisure activities with other children are missing for many. The California research team therefore calls for placing special emphasis on sufficient exercise now—not only for physical but also for mental health, to prevent insecurities and anxieties both currently and in adulthood.