It has been reported that people who maintain an active lifestyle until they reach middle age have the tendency to gain a lesser pounds and inches in time. This benefit is more evident in women than in men, as according to the latest findings. This is actually not a surprising finding. However, there has been a little in the way of research that showed evidence to support the notion.

There have been studies that showed interest in physical activity and weight have greatly focused on exercise as the primary means to cut off excess weights rather than to hold off against signs of ageing. The latest study has been published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It has suggested that maintaining an active lifestyle during the early stages of life until the middle age can certainly help in guarding off against flab.

Researchers were able to find out that more than 3,600 young U.S. adults who habitually maintained a healthy and active lifestyle over time put on around 6 fewer pounds as compare to men who made it consistent to be active who had low levels of weight increase.

On the other hand, most active women gained 1.5 fewer inches when they reached middle age and gained 13 fewer pounds. According to Dr. Arlene L. Hankinson, the lead researcher who works at Northwestern University in Chicago, "It's the maintenance of the physical activity that's the important thing.” Furthermore, Hankinson said that it is not really so much about attaining an overly high activity level but it’s about keeping a level of daily physical activity that you can maintain over time.The research team was able to measure the participants’ normal exercise, including their job activities and house activities with the use of a scoring system that is effective in describing duration and intensity. It was able to allow the researchers to measure whether the participants were able to maintain an active life or not without looking at the specific activities. This was done over the year.

Health experts have recommended that adults should have at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise. This includes brisk walking and the likes and should be done for five days in a week. If seen in exercise unit terms, it would show a moderate activity level. However, it has still been unclear whether moderate exercising would be enough to prevent in gaining extra weight over time.

The study showed that 46 percent of men were consistently active during the time the study was undertaken. Not far behind, women had a percentage of 42. The team of Hankinson was able to determine the benefits that were connected to people having moderate level of exercise. Men gained 4 fewer pounds than those who did not do the same active exercise effort. Women, on the other hand, gained 10 fewer pounds as than those women who did not undergo the same level of exercise intensity.