Here’s yet another reason why one should exercise regularly — working out triggers influential stem cells to become bones, instead of fat, says a new study. Researchers at McMaster University, who carried out the study, have claimed that this also helps in improving the overall health of a person by boosting the body’s capacity to make blood.

Using treadmill-conditioned mice, the team has shown that aerobic exercise triggers those cells to become bone more often than fat. The mice ran less than an hour, three times a week, enough time to have a significant impact on their blood production. In sedentary mice, the same stem cells were more likely to become fat, impairing blood production in the marrow cavities of bones.
“The interesting thing was that a modest exercise programme was able to increase blood cells in the marrow and in circulation. Exercise is enough of a stimulus to actually trigger a switch in the mesenchymal stem cells,” the researchers said. — PTI