Why the study?
Prior evidence linking aerobic exercise to reduced cardiovascular risk and stress- and emotion-related neuroendocrine, autonomic, and neural activity was mixed and largely correlational or cross-sectional.
Does a 150 min per week moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise intervention improve biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk and stress-related neuroendocrine activity in healthy midlife adults?
Population
130 healthy adults aged 26 to 58 years
Comparison
150 min per week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise vs health-information control
Design
Preregistered randomized clinical trial
Follow-up
12 months
Key result
A 12-month aerobic exercise intervention reduced hair cortisol (between-group difference = -0.62; p=0.039) in midlife adults, without affecting other cardiovascular or stress biomarkers.
Authors
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Supports aerobic exercise for stress reduction in midlife adults; leaves open impact on cardiovascular risk biomarkers.
Does a 150 min per week moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise intervention improve biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk and stress-related neuroendocrine activity in healthy midlife adults?
A 12-month aerobic exercise intervention reduced hair cortisol but did not significantly alter other stress, emotion, or cardiovascular risk biomarkers in healthy midlife adults.
Gianaros et al. (2026) studied this question. A 12-month aerobic exercise intervention reduced hair cortisol (between-group difference = -0.62; p=0.039) in midlife adults, without affecting other cardiovascular or stress biomarkers.