Physical exercise

6 papers5 findings

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

On aging: the drug’s trials ARN judged to be about aging, of every trial that tests it for any use.

No results posted: trials that ended more than a year ago with no results on ClinicalTrials.gov and no paper in ARN’s record.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

3 independent labs in 2 countries
1 finding against

Funders: National Institute on Aging and 1 more

Human trial1
Humans2
Animals1

Outcomes

Activities of daily living

no changein humans1upin humans1

1 study

Physical exercise has no effect on activities of daily living in humans.
“no benefits were found for older adults without noticeable difficulty in ADLs”
Reviewolder adults without noticeable difficulty in ADLs
Occupational Therapy Interventions to Improve Activities of Daily Living for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review
The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association1 Jan 2018
Physical exercise improves activities of daily living in humans.
“Physical exercise interventions for frail older adults showed a moderate benefit”
Reviewfrail older adults
Occupational Therapy Interventions to Improve Activities of Daily Living for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review
The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association1 Jan 2018

Memory

upin humans1

1 study

Physical exercise improves memory in humans.
“participants who went through a higher dose of exercise showed larger improvement in episodic and working memory”
Human trialn = 127
EFFECTS OF HOME-BASED COGNITIVE AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE TRAINING ON COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS: THE COVEPIC TRIAL
GSA 2024 abstract31 Dec 2024

Associations

Health inequalities

mixedin humans1

1 study

Physical exercise is associated with health inequalities in humans.
“the frequency of physical exercise is the main contribution of health inequalities among men.”
HumansExercise frequency; largest contribution in Shapley decompositionmales
Unequal returns to effort? Gender differences in health status and lifestyle
Social science & medicine (1982)7 Oct 2026

Health status

downin humans1

1 study

Physical exercise is associated with health status in humans.
“insufficient physical activity is more strongly associated with poorer health in men than in women”
HumansInsufficient physical activity; stronger association in men than in women
Unequal returns to effort? Gender differences in health status and lifestyle
Social science & medicine (1982)7 Oct 2026