Does Exercise Offset a Poor Diet?

Does Exercise Offset a Poor Diet?

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in July 2021 looked at the interaction of physical activity and diet, with death, cardiovascular disease, and physical exercise, diet and adiposity-related cancer mortality.

The study used a population-based prospective cohort study with a sample of 346,627 British adults over 11.2 years. The findings found that high levels of physical activity do not offset the harmful effects of a poor diet on mortality risk.

Participation in high levels of physical activity and having a high-quality diet decreased the mortality risk by 17 percent from all causes, 19 percent from cardiovascular disease, and 27 percent from certain cancers compared to those who were inactive and had a poor diet.
The impact of a poor diet was not offset with high levels of exercise, and conversely, low levels of activity were not compensated with a high-quality diet.

High-quality diets included:

  • At least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day

  • Two portions of fish per week

  • Lesser consumption of red meat, particularly processed meat

However, as the mean follow-up period was only 11 years, and longer-term interactions between diet and physical activity are still undetermined.

Ding D, Buskirk J Van, Nguyen B, et al. Physical activity, diet quality, and all-cause cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality: a prospective study of 346 627 UK Biobank participants. Br J Sports Med. July 2022:bjsports-2021-105195. doi:10.1136/BJSPORTS-2021-105195

Exercise, Disease, DietAndrew TomasDiet, Disease, Heart Disease, ExerciseComment