Regular physical exercise has many benefits and contributes to active and healthy aging, but a balanced diet is also essential to maintain good health and, in fact, a new study has found that eating a healthy diet rich in foods such as vegetables, fruits , whole grains, legumes, nuts and fish and in which the consumption of red meat and alcohol is limited helps to improve physical fitness, especially in the case of middle-aged people.
The results of the research have been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the scientific journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and show that having a healthy diet can be as effective in maintaining good physical condition as taking 4,000 more steps. up to date. “This study provides some of the strongest and most rigorous data to date to support the connection between better diet and improved fitness,” said study author Michael Mi, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, USA. ), who adds: “The improvement in fitness that we observed in the participants with better diets was similar to the effect of taking 4,000 more steps each day.”
The researchers analyzed the relationship between a healthy Mediterranean diet and the physical fitness of 2,380 individuals between the ages of 50 and 60 –with a mean age of 54 years– from the Framingham Heart Study cohort, of whom 54% were women. . These people underwent a maximal effort cardiopulmonary exercise test on a bicycle ergometer to measure VO2 (volume of oxygen) max. Their fasting blood concentrations of 201 metabolites, which are substances produced during digestion and released into the blood during exercise, were also measured.
“In middle-aged adults, healthy dietary patterns were strongly and favorably associated with physical fitness, even after accounting for usual activity levels”
The participants answered a questionnaire in which they reported the frequency with which they had consumed 126 foods in the last year, and which were classified from never or less than once a month, to equal to or more than six servings a day. In addition, the quality of their diet was assessed by the Alternative Healthy Eating Index.
A Mediterranean-style diet improves metabolic health
Higher scores indicated a better quality diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and fish, in which red meat and alcohol were limited. “In middle-aged adults, healthy dietary patterns were strongly and favorably associated with physical fitness, even after accounting for usual activity levels. The relationship was similar in women and men, and more pronounced in those under 54 years of age than in older adults”, highlights Mi.
“Our metabolite data suggest that eating healthy is associated with better metabolic health, which could be a possible pathway leading to better fitness and exercise capacity,” says Mi, who concludes: “A diet of Mediterranean style with fresh, whole foods and minimal processed foods, red meat, and alcohol is a good starting point.”
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