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The Benefits of Exercise

© Gretchen Malik

Studies show that up to 12 percent of all deaths in the United States can be attributed to lack of activity, according to the American Heart Association. Lack of exercise is linked to a greater risk of many diseases, including diabetes, colon and breast cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. A regular workout can help manage those and other conditions, ranging from arthritis to depression.

What is it about exercise that makes it such effective medicine?

Heart Disease. Exercise strengthens your body's hardest-working muscle, the heart. A regular workout that pushes your body into its target heart rate - 60 percent to 75 percent of your maximal heart rate - can make the heart beat more efficiently, strengthen arteries and improve blood circulation.

Weight Control. The rule is very simple: To lose weight, you must use more calories than you consume. And what uses calories? Physical activity. Besides that, regular exercise decreases appetite and increases metabolism, so your body can burn calories more efficiently. Coupled with improving muscle tone and firmness, it spells a key part of any weight loss or management plan. Losing weight has important medical consequences since obesity contributes to numerous diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Diabetes. Exercise benefits people with both type I and type II diabetes. It helps lower glucose levels by removing some glucose from the blood to use for energy during and after exercise. It also helps delay or eliminate large blood vessel and heart (cardiovascular) disease, a leading killer of people with diabetes.

Arthritis. The pain, inflammation and stiffness of arthritis can be eased significantly with physical activity, which increases the blood supply to muscles, improves joint flexibility, and boosts the strength of muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Depression And Mood. Research shows that in some cases, physical activity alone can relieve the symptoms of clinical depression and anxiety. Experts believe that aerobic exercise releases endorphins and other brain chemicals that can improve mood and reduce pain.

Of course, many other conditions can be managed or prevented with a regular dose of moderate. Still, only 22 percent of Americans get enough exercise to have healthy hearts. Are you one of them?

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