health benefits of exercise
The benefits of doing regular exercise include a reduced risk of: heart disease, stroke, bowel cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and obesity. In addition, many people feel better in themselves. Regular exercise is also thought to help ease stress, anxiety, and mild depression.
How much exercise should I take?
To gain health benefits you should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, on most days (at least 5 days per week).
30 minutes in a day is the minimum to gain health benefits. However, you don't have to do this all at once. Several short bursts of activity are thought to be just as good - and easier to fit into a busy schedule. Try to increase the overall amount to 40-60 minutes per day if you can.
Moderate exercise means that you get warm, mildly out of breath, and mildly sweaty. It doesn't have to be intense. However, a study published in 2003 suggests that the more vigorous the exercise, the better for health - particularly for preventing heart disease.
Unfortunately, you can't 'store up' the benefits of exercise - you need to do it regularly.
What sort of exercise is best?
Anything that makes your heart rate increase, and makes you at least mildly out of breath. For example: brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling or dancing.
You can even use normal activities as part of your exercise routine - fairly heavy housework or gardening can make you out of breath and sweaty. Or how about a brisk walk to work, or to the shops, instead of using the car or bus.
What are the health benefits of exercise?
Heart disease and stroke
On average, the risk of developing heart disease such as angina or a heart attack is reduced by about a third in people who exercise compared to those who do no exercise. You are also less likely to have a stroke. Exercise is good for the heart muscle, but it also reduces some 'risk factors' for heart disease and stroke. For example, on average, blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight are lower in people who regularly exercise compared with those who don't.
If you already have heart disease, regular exercise is usually advised as an important way to help prevent the condition from getting worse.
Weight control
Exercise helps to burn off excess fat. Regular exercise combined with a healthy diet is the best way of losing excess weight, and to maintain a healthy body weight.
Osteoporosis
Regular exercise helps to prevent osteoporosis ('thinning of the bones'). The pulling and tugging on the bones by the muscles helps to stimulate bone-making cells which strengthens the bones. At around the age of 35 years bones start to become weaker if we don't exercise regularly. Exercise helps to maintain bone strength. Think of it like a bank account, until the age of approximately 35 years everytime you exercise you are putting money into a savings account. After the age of 35 years, this account balance will start to slowly go down unless you exercise regularly to top up your savings!
Cancer
Regular exercise roughly halves the chance of developing cancer of the colon (bowel cancer). There is also evidence that breast cancer is less common in women who exercise regularly.
Mental health
Exercise is thought to help mental health in many ways:
Ease stress, and improve well-being and self-esteem. It is difficult to measure 'stress'. However, many people find their level of stress is reduced by regular exercise.
Ease anxiety and mild depression.
Make you sleep better. (But do exercise during the day, not near to bed time.)
Older people
If you are over 70, you are less likely to fall and be injured if you exercise regularly.
Are there any risks with exercise?
Sprains and sometimes more serious injuries are a risk if you do some types of exercise such as competitive sports. You can cut down the risk of injury by always warming up before any vigorous exercise, and by wearing the correct footwear.
Endurance sports such as marathon running can cause stress fractures, fatigue, and cause menstrual periods to stop in some women.
Sudden death sometimes occurs in people who are exercising. This is rare if you are used to moderate exercise. It is more likely to occur if you don't do much exercise, but then do a sudden bout of vigorous exercise such as an intense game of squash. However, even in this situation, sudden death is uncommon.
If you gradually build up to do regular moderate exercise, the potential health gains greatly outweigh the small risks involved.
Some other points about exercise
If you have a medical condition, it is important to see a doctor before starting an exercise programme.
If you are unfit and not used to exercise, you should build up your level of exercise gradually.
One of the biggest obstacles is the uphill battle to become fit. Many people feel the first few attempts at exercise are quite a struggle. Don't get disheartened - you will find that each time you excercise it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Try and keep exercise high on your list of priorities. If one kind of exercise becomes boring, try switching to other types to maintain the health benefits.
Don't set your goals too high. Aiming for a marathon, for example may take too much time up and you may lose enthusiasm.
Exercise is not just for young 'sporty' types. It is never too late to start to gain the benefits, no matter how old or unfit you are.
The bottom line: realistically, walking is likely to be the exercise chosen by many people. This is fine as brisk walking is an excellent moderate exercise. One medical report states "Walking two miles a day can cut the risk of death by half".
This information has been taken from the patient.co.uk website
