Exercise, or physical activity, is used in the treatment process
for most diseases and ailments, and physical activity can also help treat mild depression. With exercise one can decrease
blood pressure, decrease total blood cholesterol, decrease blood sugar, improve one's sense of well-being, increase emotional
stamina, and improve sleep (Cooper 2002).
The American Heart Association (AHA) explains in depth on their
website all of the benefits of physical activity. One thing that I think might get more people active that needs explanation
is that physical activity, or exercise "reduces the risk of heart disease" (AHA. Justmove.org. 1999,2002). The public may
need to know how and why, not just how it is.
For those who eat too much food taking in too many calories and
more so taking in all the saturated fat in red meats and other food containing saturated fat, their arteries can become clogged,
which leads to numerous problems within the body. Regular exercise can fix clogged arteries and reverse heart disease by keeping
the heart and arteries strong and, in effect, ward off strokes and heart attacks caused by those clots which form from too
much saturated fat. In turn, surgery can be avoided, blood pressure will become regular, and blood cholesterol levels will
improve (AHA. Justmove.org. 1999-2000). Physical activity prevents bone loss caused by the muscles taking calcium from them,
it helps manage stress, and the elderly can delay the onset of or even prevent chronic illnesses and diseases that have been
associated with aging (AHA. Justmove.org. 1999,2002)
Aside from fixing and maintaining our hearts, which keeps us alive,
physical
activity boosts energy level, helps manage stress by
regulating the brain's chemicals, releases tension, improves the
ability to get to sleep and not wake up throughout the night,
improves self-image with more good chemicals in the brain produced
through exercise and counters anxiety and depression as well as
increases
enthusiasm and optimism, it increases muscle strength,
and if children are introduced at young ages with repetition it
establishes good heart healthy habits in children. (AHA.
Justmove.org. 1999,2002)
Children are getting slower in endurance running and are
getting weaker according to fitness testing (AHA). Since 1980 there has been a ten percent drop off on scores for distance
runs and an eleven percent decline in youngsters who achieved at least a "satisfactory" score on the entire test, states AHA.
There was an increase of 180 percent of overweight American adolescents age 12-19 from 1970-1999. The National Health Examination
Survey found that about ten percent of children and adolescents are overweight, and among children and adolescents ages 4-19,
the mean total blood cholesterol level is 165 mg/dL (AHA. Justmove.org. 1999, 2002)
Some people think their excuses for no exercise are viable. After
all, we learn from doctors, parents, and friends that if it hurts don't do it, but that's where doctors can help. They can
set their patients up with a physical therapist who will help keep range of motion in the joints of the body and keep the
body supple if there is a serious injury. There is no excuse for years of inactivity. Personal trainers know how to work with
injuries as well as physical therapists, and with a note from the doctor Okaying exrcise and possibly giving an explanation
of what muscles or body part needs help, one could be getting regular exercise in no time.
Exercise is our answer to living longer and surpassing age expectations
of death. Many studies show that exercise adds years onto our lives. In the book Exercise Physiology (fifth ed.) Energy,
Nutrition, and Human Performance a Harvard alumni study states that
The
lifestyles and exercise habits of 17,000 Harvard alumni who
entered college between 1916 and 1950 provide evidence that
moderate aerobic exercise equivalent to jogging approximately three
miles per day promotes good health and adds several years to life.
The results of these long-term studies were as follows:
Regular exercise countered the life-shortening effects of cigarette
smoking and excess body weight.
Individuals with hypertension who exercised regularly reduced death
rate by one-half.
Regular exercise countered genetic tendencies toward early death.
Individuals with one or both parents who died before ate 65 (a
significant health risk) reduced death risk by 25 percent with a
lifestyle of regular exercise.
Mortality rate decreased by 50 percent for active men and whose
parents
lived beyond 65 years. (p888)
We are letting our bodies degenerate by not adding physical
activity regularly to our lives. We as humans need to learn to be preventive rather than permit curable diseases to take hold
of us. Thus far incurable diseases can be fought, kept at bay or dealt with through exercise. Stroke, Paget's Disease, PMS,
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Breast Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Planter Fasciitis,
Nephrotic Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Panic Disorder, Scoliosis, Rotator Cuff Disorders, Parkinson's Disease, Polymyalgia Rheumatica,
Spinal Stenosis, Gestational Diabetes, and Dupuytren's Disease are some diseases and ailments that are treated or prevented
with exercise (WebMD.com).
