Exercise and Your Health, How Much Does it
really Help?
You always hear people say, "You need to exercise
regularly to maintain your health", but just how
much does exercise really do for your health overall?
Are the health benefits of exercise really worth
the effort it takes to exercise regularly? Can't
you just eat better and still maintain your health
just the same? Can anyone tell me what the real
health benefits of exercise are or is it all just
speculation based on heresy?Alright then, here
are some really good reasons to consider for making
exercise part of your healthy lifestyle:Americans
spend more than $600 billion dollars per year
for health care. That equals almost $3,000 for
every single person in the whole population of
the country.
Sadly, this financial commitment has shown no
signs of any decrease, nor has it produced fully
acceptable results with regard to treating a wide
variety of chronic health problems.Attempts have
been made to identify the factors which have been
major contributions to the epidemic of medical
problems in our society today and a number of
probable reasons for why so many people are so
seemingly unhealthy have been named as; poor eating
habits, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, poor health
habits (i.e. smoking).At the same time, studies
have been done to see what, if anything can be
done to lower either the number or the severity
of the medical problems affecting the public.
These studies have shown some convincing evidence
that exercise has substantial medical benefits
for people of all ages.
Two of the most publicized efforts to investigate
the possible link between exercise and disease
were longitudinal studies, each of which used
more than 10,000 subjects.Some years ago, in a
study of 17,000 Harvard graduates, Ralph Paffenbarger,
M.D., found that men who expended 300 calories
per day, the equivalent of walking briskly for
45 minutes, reduced their death rates from all
causes by 28% and lived an average of two years
longer than their sedentary former classmates. A
more recent study conducted by Steven Blair, P.E.D.,
of the Institute of Aerobics Research in Dallas
documented the fact that a relatively moderate
amount of exercise has a significant effect on
the mortality rate of both men and women. The
data was adjusted for age differences between
subjects in an eight year study of 13,344 individuals
and the conclusion was that the higher the fitness
level, the lower the death rate.
An analysis of the data yielded by both studies
suggests one conclusion.exercise is medicine!Accepting
the idea that regular exercise can play an important
role in reducing your risk of incurring a medical
problem and reducing your overall health care
costs is a critical step. While listing all of
the medical problems and conditions that can be
at least partially treated and controlled by exercise
would be very extensive, here are a few of the
most significant health concerns and the manner
in which exercise is thought to help in each case. Allergies:
exercise is one of the body's most efficient ways
to control nasal congestion.Angina: regular aerobic
exercise dilates vessels, increasing blood flow,
thereby improving your body's ability to extract
oxygen from the bloodstream.Anxiety: exercise
triggers the release of mood-altering chemicals
in the brain.Arthritis: by making the skeletal
joints move, exercise induces the manufacture
of synovial fluid and helps to distribute it over
the cartilage and to force it to circulate throughout
the joint space.
Back pain: exercise helps to strengthen the abdominal
muscles and the lower back muscles.Cholesterol:
exercise will raise your HDL (the good cholesterol)
in the blood and lower your LDL levels, the bad
cholesterol.Diabetes: exercise helps lower excess
blood sugar levels and improves your circulation.Heart
disease: exercise, by lowering your body fat,
lowering your LDL levels, decreasing your blood
pressure, lowering your heart rate and increasing
heart and lung efficiency, lowers your risk of
heart problems.Knee problems: exercise helps strengthen
the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the knee
making it more able to withstand stress. Menstrual
problems and PMS: exercise helps to control the
hormonal imbalances often associated with PMS
by increasing the release of beta-endorphins.Osteoporosis:
exercise promotes bone density, lowering the risk
of suffering a bone fracture.Overweight problems:
exercise suppresses your appetite, increases your
metabolic rate, burns fat and increases lean muscle
mass.
So, are the benefits of regular exercise really
worth the effort? Should you make exercise a part
of your lifestyle? Absolutely! As you can see,
in many ways, your life may depend on it.About
The Author:Jim O'Neill gives you tons of valuable
information on the subjects of weight loss, fitness,
and nutrition to make it easy for you to live
a healthy lifestyle. Sign up now for his free
newsletter at: http://www.mrgymhealth.com
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