停止鍛鍊的後果
Ever wonder what would happen if you stopped working out? A new study on identical twins published in th< journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise explores exactly that, and the results are dramatic.
想知道停止鍛鍊後會發生什麼嗎？一項由《每日醫學》，《體育科學》和《運動探祕》共同公佈的研究表明，雙胞胎們在測試後發生了戲劇性的變化。
In the study, Finnish researchers looked at 10 pairs of identical twin men. Each set of twins was in the ir mid-30s, and each had been brought up in the same household. Since they were identical, they also shar ed the same DNA. The only difference was that though they had maintained the same level of physical act ity for most of their lives, one twin had cut way back on exercising in the past few years due to work or family pressure; on average, the active twin worked out at least twice a week, while the less active twi n exercised less than twice a week. The research team put each twin through a host of medical tests to ge t a sense of their overall health.
茌研究中，芬蘭研究人員選擇了10對同卵雙胞胎。每對雙胞胎都是30多歲,每對雙胞胎的日常起居都淚同。當然，因爲是同卵，所以他們也擁有完全相同的DNA。僅有的不同是，雖然他們在大多數時候進行相同等級的鍛鍊 ,但其中一個雙胞胎在過去幾年裏因工作和家庭壓力削減了運動；平均來說，常運動的雙胞胎每週至少運動兩次.同時，少運動的雙胞胎每週運動不到兩次。研究團隊對每名雙胞胎都進行了多項藥理檢查,以獲得他們全部的健康狀況。
The results revealed big differences between each twin. While the more active twins had lower body fat percentage (20.7 versus 24), better endurance levels, and normal insulin sensitivity, the sedentary twins had about seven more pounds of body fat, worse endurance, and insulin sensitivity that showed signs of early metabolic disease. Not only were their bodies different; their brains diverged as well. The athletic twins had more gray matter (the information processing part of the brain), particularly in areas that controlled balance and motor function.
結果揭露了每對雙胞胎之間巨大的差異。常運動的雙胞胎擁有更低的體脂肪率（20.7:24），更好的耐力，和正常的胰島素敏感度，少運動的雙胞胎脂肪多出7磅多，耐力差，胰島素敏感度更顯示出早期代謝病的症狀。不僅身體狀況不同，他們的大腦也出現差異。運動雙胞胎擁有更多腦灰質（大腦中負責信息處理的部分），尤其是負責平衡和運動功能的部分。
The study was small, but the takeaway is clear: Quitting your fitness routine can trigger body and brain changes that mess with your cardio fitness and strength and set you up for chronic conditions such as di abetes, says Jordan Metzl, M.D., sports medicine physician and author of The Exercise Cure. (Metzl was no t part of the study.) And considering that the less active twins in the study had only recently become co uch potatoes, these changes can sneak up on you a lot sooner than you'd think. "Muscles begin to atroph> after just a few days of being sedentary," says Metzl. "Organ damage and changes in overall functioning w ill follow."
運動醫學專家和運動治療機構負責人喬丹吉米麥特奏(他並沒有參與這項研究）說，這個研究規模較小，但結論卻很淸晰：退出健身計劃會觸發身體和大腦的改變，弱化心肺的功能，還會導致一些慢性病，比如糖尿病。考慮到少運動雙胞胎只在最近才變得懶散，這些改變可能比你想象得更早已發生在你身上。” “缺乏運動只要幾天就會導致肌肉萎縮，”吉米麥特奏說，“而器官總體功苜獅員傷與改變隨後就會開始。”
