The benefits of exercise as it relates to a person’s overall health and appearance have been reported on for years.

Offering further proof of this correlation came earlier this week, when New York Times Health & Fitness writer Gretchen Reynolds authored a supremely interesting article on a study conducted by Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Canada. This study, conducted over the period of one year, compared the lifespan of mice that were given the opportunity to exercise against those that were not.

The results are astounding! The mice that were not given an opportunity to regularly exercise all died within one year, due to what is identified as “malfunctioning mitochondria.”  The results for the mice that were allowed to run on a wheel three times per week is in sharp contrast. According to the article, those mice, “had full pelts of dark fur, no salt-and-pepper shadings. They also had maintained almost all of their muscle mass and brain volume. Their gonads were normal, as were their hearts. They could balance on narrow rods, the showoffs.” These mice also far outlived their non-exercising counterparts.

So what does this study mean for humans?

Dr. Tarnpolsky is not yet certain. So in the meantime, we recommend clicking here to read the full article and then head outside or to the gym for some exercise of your own!