Physical activity doesn’t just give you a great body. It also benefits your overall health. In fact, exercise can reduce your risk of depression, anxiety, stress, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, type 2 diabetes and various cardiovascular diseases. It also helps you lose weight and boosts your cognitive health. So what are you waiting for?
Physical Activity…
Medical experts, general practitioners and doctors all advice patients to take up some for of physical activity and diet plan to increase their overall health. Exercise helps burn up excess calories, and it doesn’t even need to be strenuous exercise. Simple changes like brisk walking, household chores and using the stairs more often can really make a difference. This is particularly true for those with a history of stroke.
For people living in urban areas, it can be difficult to find time or a place to exercise. Everything around us is built for our convenience, but lack of physical activity has been linked to mental stress, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and various types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer. These are all what they call ‘lifestyle diseases’ because of their connection to a lack of physical activity. In many cases, serious diagnoses such as these can prompt people to start working out
The Lifestyle
If you look at young children, you’ll notice that they tend to be lean and full of activity. This is because they are exerting an amount of energy in proportion to their diet. The children who aren’t physically active start to gain weight even at an early age. Studies show that physically fit children have more robust neuro-electrical brain responses during school activities, like reading, than those who are less fit.
Advancements in technology and the resulting sedentary lifestyle are a large source of blame for the global decline in health. Today, people hardly engage in physical activity if not actively seeking it, because most jobs require a lot of sitting in front of a computer or riding in vehicles. Even after work, people tend to sit in front of the television or surf the internet. With this level of inactivity, people don’t even burn a fraction of the calories they consume.
One of the major barriers to exercise people face today is time. Nowadays, most people are caught up in their day-to-day lives and finding the time to exercise can be hard. It’s important to remember that health is at stake. In reality, anyone can take up an exercise routine pretty easily, unless they are suffering from pre-existing conditions or injuries. If this is the case, consult your doctor.
Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Here are some of the most startling health benefits of physical activity:
- Helps balance cholesterol levels. High cholesterol levels can be linked to coronary heart disease. Research shows exercise increases good cholesterol and lowers bad cholesterol to balance them out.
- Helps regulate blood pressure. Physical activity is essential in lowering blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart conditions and stroke.
- Helps reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Research shows that exercise can reduce the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
- A great exercise routine for kids. Children don’t play outdoors much anymore, which increases the risk of obesity.
- Aids in weight loss. If you don’t exercise, you may gain weight. Conversely, if you do exercise, you can lose it!
- Helps improve brain function. Studies show that brain health may be improved by engaging in physical activity. As a matter of fact, moderate to heavy physical activity may help improve mental performance and learning capabilities.
- Helps prevent cancer. Research shows that moderate physical activity is essential in reducing the development of various types of cancer. This is one of the best health benefits of physical activity.
