Which Came First, The Chicken or The Egg?

We all know the famous saying of "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" This adage is perceived as a paradox, because it is believed that only a chicken can produce a chicken egg and only a chicken egg can produce a chicken. This is commonly referred to as a causality dilemma or catch-22. Can the same be said for a healthy diet encouraging exercise? Or is it exercise that encourages a healthy diet? So, which comes first?

EXERCISE ENCOURAGES A HEALTHY DIET?

HEALTHY DIET ENCOURAGES EXERCISE?

According to an article posted 2011-12-23 on WorldHealth.net, this particular causality dilemma or catch-22 has been solved. It seems that Exercise Encourages a Healthy Diet, as further explained in the post below:

While a healthy diet and the right amount of exercise are considered to be key players in treating and preventing obesity, Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA) researchers reveal that an increase in physical activity is linked to an improvement in diet quality.  Miguel Alonso Alonso and colleagues analyzed data from epidemiological studies, finding that tendencies towards a healthy diet and the right amount of physical exercise often come hand in hand. Furthermore, an increase in physical activity is usually linked to a parallel improvement in diet quality.  Exercise also brings benefits such as an increase in sensitivity to physiological signs of fullness. This not only means that appetite can be controlled better but it also modifies hedonic responses to food stimuli. Therefore, benefits can be classified as those that occur in the short term (of metabolic predominance) and those that are seen in the long term (of behavioral predominance). Commenting that: “By enhancing the resources that facilitate ‘top-down’ inhibitory control, increased physical activity may help compensate and suppress the hedonic drive to over-eat,” the study authors submit that: “Understanding how physical activity and eating behaviors interact on a neurocognitive level may help to maintain a healthy lifestyle in an obesogenic environment.”

R. J. Joseph, M. Alonso-Alonso, D. S. Bond, A. Pascual-Leone, G. L. Blackburn.  “The neurocognitive connection between physical activity and eating behavior.”  Obesity Reviews, Volume 12, Issue 10, October 2011, Pages: 800–812.

Which came first? Chicken or the egg…egg or the chicken. Which should come first? Exercise then a healthy diet...healthy diet then exercise. Whichever you believe actually comes first doesn’t really matter…as long as you are exercising and eating a healthy diet, then you are choosing to be HEALTHY in 2012! Happy New Year!!!!