Our childhood shapes us like no other time in life. A new study now shows how important healthy nutrition and exercise are when you are young: those who don’t grow up with it can notice it mentally and physically as adults.
Junk food, sweets, no fruit and vegetables: An unhealthy diet as a child can have fatal consequences – especially in combination with too little exercise. A new study in mice suggests that an unhealthy lifestyle early in life can even have serious repercussions in adulthood.
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For the first time, the consequences of an unhealthy diet and little exercise were examined in combination
Researchers from the University of California have examined how healthy eating and exercise at a young age affect later life. And they examined what happens when both are neglected. So far, both factors have been researched individually, but not together, explained the study leader Marcell Cadney in the journal «EurekAlert!».
Cadney and his colleagues therefore carried out a study with young mice until they reached sexual maturity. To do this, they divided the animals into four groups. In mice that could move freely in a running wheel and mice that were not allowed to do so. Also in mice that were fed a healthy diet and mice that were fed high-fat, high-sugar foods based on a “Western” diet. After a few weeks, the researchers fed all the mice healthy food and provided all the animals with running wheels. The researchers then carried out behavioral analyses. They measured aerobic capacity using maximal oxygen uptake (a way of measuring endurance). And they examined the hormonal balance of the animals.
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Poor nutrition and too little exercise: What happens when children grow up unhealthy?
And they got amazing 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 fed a diet high in fat and sugar as young animals became fatter. They also became more responsive to unhealthy foods as adults.
In a previous study, the researchers had already found that the intake of too much fat and sugar in childhood can change the microbiome for life. Even if you eat healthier later. The research team now wants to investigate whether fat or sugar is the more harmful factor in early childhood nutrition. Both studies together, even if only done on mice, would provide many important clues for children growing up. The results also make it easier to understand what effects sufficient exercise and a change in diet in childhood could have on later obesity. This is one conclusion of the researchers.
Relevance of the study results greater than ever
The study shows how important a healthy diet and sufficient exercise at a young age are for later life. Especially the second aspect. Due to the ongoing corona pandemic, physical education at schools, club sports and active leisure activities with other children are no longer available for many. The Californian research team therefore calls for people to attach particular importance to sufficient exercise. Not only for physical, but also for mental health, to prevent insecurities and fears now and in adulthood.