Mia Hamm, a former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, says, "True athletes aren't always the ones who win, but the one with the most guts."

Researchers looking into the composition of high-level athletes’ intestinal microbiome agree: Their guts’ mix of bacteria is something special.

But it turns out, according to a new study in the FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Journal, exercise — even for overweight people 40 to 65 years old — can do a lot to improve gut biome.

And when your gut biome is more diverse and has more health-promoting bacteria that boost your immune function, mood, behavioral health status, gastrointestinal health, and blood sugar regulation, that can help control your weight and prevent chronic metabolic disease.

Researchers from the University of Calgary looked at 350 middle-age overweight and normal-weight folks and found that 150 to 500 minutes a week of moderate exercise gave the best boost to diversity of their gut bacteria.

Moderate exercise included brisk walking, cleaning, mowing the lawn and other yard work, bicycling, and playing sports such as badminton and doubles tennis.

Normal-weight peoples’ guts benefited the most, but that's because being overweight causes additional health challenges that affect the gut — and they take time and weight loss to reduce or resolve.

One additional finding: Increased intensity of exercise did not improve gut health, but increased time spent on physical activity did. So aim for 30 to 90 minutes of moderate activity daily.