People who exercise regularly are less likely to lose their sense of smell as they age

Oct 20, 2013 19:46 GMT  ·  By
Researchers say people who exercise are less likely to lose their sense of smell as they age
   Researchers say people who exercise are less likely to lose their sense of smell as they age

Exercise benefits the brain. Exercise works wonder for the heart. Exercise lowers diabetes risk. These are all scientific findings that, truth be told, are pretty much common sense. Still, few would ever suspect that a regular fitness routine can benefit the nose.

A new paper published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery a couple of days ago says that, according to evidence at hand, people who exercise on a regular basis are less likely to experience a decline in their sense of smell as they age.

Researchers reached this conclusion after monitoring a total of 1,6000 people whose ages ranged from 53 to 97 over a period of up to 10 years.

Of these people, 28% were found to have partly lost their sense of smell as they aged. Interestingly enough, smell impairment was more common among those who shied away from regular exercise.

This discovery held true even when variables such as gender, smoking and anatomical particularities were taken into consideration.

“Participants who reported exercising at least once a week long enough to work up a sweat had a decreased risk of olfactory impairment,” the researchers wrote in their paper, as cited by Live Science.

Specialists are yet to figure out how and why regular exercise helps people have a sharper sense of smell in their later years.