Effect of Exericse and Nutrition upon Lifestyle-Related Disease and Cognitive Function

Bray has proposed the "MONA LISA" hypothesis, an acronym for Most Obesities kNown Are Low In Sympathetic Activity indicating that obesity is associated with a relative or absolute reduction in the activity of the thermogenic component of the sympathetic nervous system. Our series of studies have suggested a potential reversibility in ANS activity regulating fat metabolism and appetite control by regular exercise training in middle aged individuals and obese children with depressed ANS activity. In other words habitual exercise plays a vital role in enhancing not only fat and glucose metabolism, but also ANS activities in the prevention of obesity and appetite control. There are growing expectations that too much sitting is a real and substantial risk to health. One of the intriguing findings from these accelerometer measurement studies is that breaks in sedentary time were shown to have beneficial associations with metabolic biomarkers, due possibly to challenging and enhancing autonomic nervous system that regulates body weight and appetite. Recent findings of brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) seem to have shed some light upon age-related neurodegenerative diseases and appear to influence energy metabolism, appetite and aspects of neuro-cognitive function. These data strongly suggest that a lack of exercise as characterized by a sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet may lead to accelerated ageing, diseases of the body and brain, and an overall decline in the quality of life.