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by andrewljohnson 5956 days ago
I don't think it takes a lot of confirmation to believe that regular exercise and a healthy diet will have a tremendous impact on everything you do.

But, if you need a bit... it works for me. When I am hiking or skiing 3-4 times a week, I get a lot more done.
2 comments
afterz 5956 days ago
Exercise worked for me too. It makes a GREAT difference on me, even an hour day of exercise counts.

I don't know how to make my diet better.

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Eliezer 5956 days ago
Big lie as far as I can tell. I'd like to see exercise tested against a placebo.
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msg 5956 days ago
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/

Here's one better. It's a type 2 diabetes study that compared exercise against metformin against a placebo. The conclusions were so overwhelmingly in favor of exercise that the study was stopped early.

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radu_floricica 5956 days ago
This study is about type 2 diabetes. The question here is on the effects of exercise as compared to mind-enhancing drugs.
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AngryParsley 5956 days ago
I had to dig around for a while, but exercise seems to have a slight beneficial effect in the general population. From http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/1997/10000/Aerobi... :

Two of four subtasks that reflect complex cognitive speed (Stroop color/word interference and Concept Shifting Test) showed main and interaction effects with age of aerobic capacity in a hierarchical regression analysis, accounting for up to 5% of variance in parameter score after correction for age, sex, and intelligence main effects.

Still, that study is rather weak evidence. The benefits could be relegated to preventing decline in older people. Anecdotally, I do feel duller on days when I don't run; even if I didn't, I'd still exercise. It helps me relieve stress.

In terms of general benefits, most people would be better off if they exercised more, not less. I mean it's not like fit people wake up one day, look at a mirror and see a firm, toned body with six-pack abs then scream at the sky, "Nooooo! Why me?!"

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rms 5956 days ago
...really? It seems stunningly obvious to me that exercise and a good diet is good for overall health and mental health. I think the burden of proof is on you here. Or are you just positing that exercise+diet has no impact on productivity, not health?
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