Moderate physical activity can definitely improve the quality of people’s lives, regardless of age and gender. Exercising can be a powerful ally in reducing the risks of developing health conditions like Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, among others. Apart from one’s physical well-being, regular exercise can also promote one’s mental health.
Habitual exercising is a highly sought-after goal for many people trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and it is believed that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day for five days per week is an acceptable and effective way to ensure a healthy body (American College of Sports Medicine, 2006). However, it seems that more than 50 percent of adults living in the U.S do not spend the moderate amount of 30 minutes of their day within a week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007a), mostly out of lack of motivation, which definitely puts a serious obstacle in attaining health and well-being.
One of the many benefits of regular exercise or any other physical activity within a day, is to cardiovascular disease, which is the core reason of mortality in the U.S (American College of Sports Medicine, 2006) for both men and women. According to findings of studies conducted my Myers and colleagues, long-term participation in cardiovascular exercise can lead to a reduction of cardiovascular disease in men by 50 percent (Myers et.al, 2004). They have demonstrated that an increase in a man’s physical activity, either by exercising or any other way, to at least 1,000 kcal/week, male mortality drops by 20 percent (Myers et.al, 2004). Women, on the other hand, can reduce the risk of experiencing cardiovascular disease to 50 percent by engaging more than 1 hour per week in a physical activity (Hu et.al, 2004).
It is reported that approximately 170 million individuals globally have diabetes (Stumvoll, Goldstein & van Haeften 2005). Resistance training and regular aerobic exercise can help the body stay healthy and improve its glucose metabolism (Pollock et al. 2001), which means that exercise plays a significant role in preventing diabetes.
Hypertension increases the risk of developing heart-related conditions, like coronary heart disease and stroke, as well as kidney failure (Bouchard & Despres 1995). Habitual exercise, like one-hour sessions of moderate-intensity exercise for about 3 to 5 times per week has proven to be effective in dropping elevated blood pressure, by approximately 2.58mm Hg for diastolic pressure and 3.84 mm Hg in systolic pressure (Whelton et.al, 2002), while based on a meta-analysis, resistance training has been found to diminish high blood pressure by 3.5 mm Hg for diastolic and 3.2 mm Hg for systolic pressure (Cornelissen & Fagard 2005). Alongside high blood pressure and heart disease, goes cholesterol. Physical activity has once again been proven to decrease any deriving health risks from high cholesterol levels and blood fats. Studies indicate that 15-20 miles of jogging each week or even a fast-paced walk can help drop blood triglycerides up to 38 mg/dl (Durstine et al. 2002).
Stroke, colon, lung and breast cancers, obesity, osteoporosis, musculoskeletal problems and arthritis are all favored by regular exercise too. Indicatively, moderately active individuals have 20 percent lower risk of stroke (Sacco et al. 2006), 30%-40% decrease in risk for colon cancer (Lee, 2003) and 20%-40% reduction in risk for breast cancer (Lee, 2003). Arthritis is a health condition that imperils the economic, social, psychological and physical well-being of the individual that has it, since it is distinguished by stiffness in the bones and joints that prevent patients from moving a lot. Eventually, they feel worthless, with lack of independence and not able to do anything, which makes them eventually close up inside (Finckh, Iversen & Liang 2003). Proper exercising has been reported to have the same pain-relieving results as medical treatments and the best type of exercise for these individuals is swimming and aquatic exercise (Finckh, Iversen & Liang 2003).
Stress is another factor that causes psychological break down and in some cases depression disorders. Physical activity and regular exercise have been found to improve one’s psychological state and well-being (Dubbert, 2002). It seems that there is a strong connection between fitness and well-being, since the more improved levels of physical health lead to more effective stress managing and lower levels of stress (Hassmen, Koivula & Uutela 2000), and the more stress-free one is, the more enhanced well-being they are experiencing. In order to reach that desired increased levels of physical fitness with everything that comes along, it is suggested that 20-minute moderate-intensity exercise performed approximately 3 days a week for about 4 months are the best health recipe for effective stress management (Callaghan, 2004).
Frequent resistant and cardiovascular exercise also betters an individual’s mood state, which is mainly affected by biochemical, psychological and psychosocial factors, among others (Lane & Lovejoy 2001). It is estimated that 25-60 minute sessions of aerobic exercise in any intensity the individual desires has a positive impact on their mood state and generates feelings of happiness and positive thinking (Lane & Lovejoy, 2001). People with depression disorders are rather reluctant and unwilling to exercise or socialize at all. However, it has been reported that resistance and cardiovascular exercise help in producing certain body hormones that have antidepressive effects (Brosse et.al, 2002) and the greatest effect occurs about 4 months after the individual has started exercising, with observable results after a month of engaging in physical activities (Scully et al. 1998).
Anger, fear or any misfortune can be the reason for anxiety. After going through the findings of more than 30 published papers, it appears to be a connection between exercising, mostly aerobic, and drop of anxiety levels (Scully et.al, 1998). It is shown that even a 5-minute session of cardiovascular exercise can generate anxiety-relieve procedures within the body (Scully et.al, 1998).
People with low self-esteem can be greatly influenced by aerobic exercise (Callaghan 2004). Of course, one’s self-esteem is a complex situation that includes the way the individual perceives their body and its attractiveness, alongside their physical condition (Scully et.al, 1998).
Regular exercising, either an individual is performing aerobic or resistance training, has been proven to be effective in many aspects of one’s life. Heart conditions, such as strokes and heart disease, can be prevented by moderate-intensity physical activities and the same applies to numerous health conditions like arthritis, some types of cancers, diabetes type 2 and hypertension. However, exercise can also assist in improving one’s mental health, since by regular exercising one can effectively manage their stress and anxiety and help changing their negative mood to positive, make them feel good about themselves, which would eventually allow them to live a life with well-being in both a physical and spiritual level.
Works Cited
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