Health Benefits Of Exercise

An overwhelming amount of evidence exists that lifelong exercise is associated with a longer health span, delaying the onset of 40 chronic conditions/diseases. What is beginning to be learned is the mechanisms by which exercise sustains and improves quality of life.

Several occupational studies have demonstrated that physical activity provides extensive cardiovascular benefits. for example, chair-bound double-decker bus drivers in London have more coronary heart disease than mobile conductors working on the same buses. On the other side postal workers delivering mail by foot similarly have a lower incidence of coronary disease than their office-based colleagues. Railroad workers and longshoremen have reduced incidence of coronary heart disease compared to those in less active occupations.

Well-conducted long-term studies have also discovered the cardiovascular beneficial effects of regular exercise. Leisure time exercise reduced cardiovascular mortality during a 16-year follow-up of men with a high risk of coronary heart disease in the MRFIT study. In the Honolulu Heart Study, elderly men walking more than 1.5 miles per day similarly reduced their risk of coronary disease. Walking was associated with cardio-protection in the Nurses’ Health Study, and moderate activity in post-menopausal women was similarly associated with a reduced risk of coronary disease in the Iowa Study. People engaging in regular exercise have also demonstrated other CVD benefits such as decreased rate of strokes and improvement in erectile dysfunction. There is also a 3-year increase in lifespan in these groups.

In conclusion, a sedentary lifestyle is an important cardiovascular risk factor. CVD has no geographic, socioeconomic, or gender boundaries. It is the leading cause of death in developing and developed countries. Risk factors for CVD are consistent throughout the world, and this includes a lack of physical activity. Although the benefits of leisure time physical activity for reducing CVD are irrefutable, only one in three Americans meets the minimal recommendations for activity as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the AHA. Physical activity is an easy, inexpensive, and effective way to avoid CVD, and the benefits accrue, irrespective of the age at which a person initiates an exercise program. Reduced CVD burden as a result of regular exercise will not only improve the quality of life but will increase the lifespan of millions  of humans worldwide. There will also be an economic benefit to all the countries in the world with a saving of billions of health-related dollars.


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REFERENCES:

Cold Spring Harbor Perspective in Medicine ¨Health Benefits of Exercise¨ May 15, 2017.

International Journal of General Medicine, 22 Jun, 2023.

Cardiovascular benefits of exercise, Volume 5, 2022.