A high-fat, high-sugar diet accelerated normal vascular aging in mice, according to a 2021 study. However, regular, lifelong aerobic exercise maintained vascular health and ameliorated some of the harmful effects of a poor diet.

Researchers studied the effects of diet and exercise on cardiovascular health in mice that exhibit many of the key features of age-related vascular dysfunction in humans. Starting at the age of three months and continuing until their natural deaths, half of the mice ate a normal diet, while the other half ate a diet that was high in fat and sugar and low in dietary fiber – much like the typical Western diet. Because mice voluntarily run in the wild and in captivity, half of each group of mice was allowed access to a running wheel for exercise, while the other mice were sedentary.

The researchers found that as the mice aged, they exhibited signs of declining cardiovascular health. In particular, they exhibited impaired endothelium-dependent dilation, a condition that occurs in the early stages of vascular disease and is a precursor to atherosclerosis. This effect was exacerbated by the high-fat/high-sugar diet. However, the researchers found that exercise ameliorated some of the harmful vascular effects of the high-fat/high-sugar diet throughout the lifespan, likely due to lower levels of oxidative stress and inflammation.

This study in mice demonstrates that aerobic exercise exerts profound protective effects on the cardiovascular system, even in the setting of a poor diet. Learn more about the benefits of aerobic exercise in our overview article.

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