Journal of Sports Medicine & Doping Studies

Observational evidence in humans suggests higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity are associated with greater brain volume, less brain atrophy, slower dementia progression, and reduced risk of dementia. Increased cardiorespiratory fitness also attenuates the detrimental effects of cerebral amyloid on cognition. Randomized controlled trials of aerobic exercise (AEx) in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective memory complaints have found exercise improved cognitive function. Aerobic exercise is a low-cost, low-risk, widely available intervention that may have disease-modifying effects. Aerobic exercise offers a low-cost, low-risk, widely available intervention that may have disease-modifying effects.

There is a direct link between a number of addictions and mood states that exercise may help to alleviate. Sugar addiction has recently been identified as a different type of binge/compulsive/addictive eating behaviour that leads to a significant health problem. Regular moderate-intensity exercise has been shown to effectively and positively impact physiological imbalances caused by a variety of morbid conditions, including affective disorders. Physical exercise has been prescribed as a complementary therapeutic strategy in a broader range of psychiatric diseases. A thorough literature search was conducted using the Cochrane Library and MEDLINE databases (search terms: sugar addiction, food craving, exercise therapy, training, physical fitness, physical activity, rehabilitation and aerobic). The goal of this review is to discuss the importance of physical activity in reversing our modern society's bleak picture of unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles.