The human body is not programmed to be physically inactive and a sedentary lifestyle will aid in the development of some harmful diseases, increase the risk of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, Ischemic stroke, depression, and osteoporosis. Got your attention yet? Read on for the details:
Heart Disease
Heart disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide for the past four decades. Although about 40% of 40 year old adults will develop heart failure during their lifetime, the Physicians’ Health Study indicated that adherence to a healthy lifestyle is associated with a significantly lower risk of heart failure. Your healthy lifestyle has to do with what you eat, how you eat, when you eat, and most importantly, how active you are.
Type 2 Diabetes
When people start aging, there’s an increased incidence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Year after year, the number of diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes increases more and more, thereby increasing the death rate.
Numerous studies have clearly demonstrated that exercise improves glucose metabolism. So going out to do that little jogging you do every morning will actually help protect you from this disease.
Ischemic Stroke
Stroke occurs when there’s shortage of blood supply to any part of the brain for an extended period of time. This shortage of blood supply is mostly caused by heart conditions (while diabetes can lead to heart disease, heart disease can also be a risk factor for stroke).
Exercising increases your heart rate. Just 30 minutes a day of exercise strenuous enough to get your heart beating faster can reduce your risk of stroke 20 percent. Exercise harder and watch the risk drop another 7 percent. (Check with your doctor about what amount of exercise is right for you.)
If you’re active, you have a 45% lower risk of developing heart disease.
Exercise makes the heart stronger – it’s a muscle, after all – helping it to pump more blood through the body. The resting heart rate of those who exercise is also lower, meaning less effort is required to pump blood.
Depression
Depression is reportedly the leading cause of non-fatal medical disability in developed countries among people aged 15 to 44 years. In fact, depression is the major cause of suicide and the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. Although aging is strongly associated with functional decline and depression, increased physical activity has been shown to delay these disorders.
For example, 158 men and women aged 50 years and older with a major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to a program of aerobic exercise, antidepressants, or combined exercise and medication. Although persons receiving medication alone exhibited the quickest initial response, exercise was equally effective in reducing depression after 15 weeks.
Oste0porosis
Osteoporosis is the degeneration of bones, a very common problem in postmenopausal women and the elderly. However, osteoporosis is not just a woman’s disease. Although men are commonly affected, it is not well appreciated by the medical community. Numerous studies have shown that physical activity is an important factor in reducing/preventing osteoporosis. Furthermore, increased physical activity during childhood and adolescence is an important prevention factor. For example, athletically active adolescent females have higher bone mass than their sedentary counterparts. Moreover, weight bearing physical activity during the years of peak bone acquisition (age 12 to 18 years) appears to have lasting benefits for lumbar spine and proximal femoral aBMD (areal bone mineral density) in postmenopausal women.
Conclusion
The bottom line is, exercise will help mitigate the risk of encountering any of the illnesses mentioned above as you grow older.
If you would like to hire a personal fitness trainer to help you design an exercise plan that works just for you, we would be glad to connect you with someone you can trust. Please get in touch with us at:
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