How You Can Exercise to Help Prevent 20 Diseases

Exercise is key to live healthy lifestyle

People of all ages can improve the quality of their lives and reduce the risks of developing coronary heart disease, hypertension, some cancers and type 2 diabetes with ongoing participation in moderate physical activity and exercise. Daily exercise will also enhance one’s mental well-being and promote healthy musculature function throughout life. Although habitual physical activity is an attainable goal on the path to a healthier life, Some of the benefits have been grouped together because of their physiological or metabolic associations.

1. Cardiovascular Disease

The leading health-related cause of mortality for men and women in the U.S. is cardiovascular disease . Meaningful cardiovascular health benefits may be attained with long-term participation in cardiovascular exercise. How much exercise is enough?  sought to address that question properly last year when it updated its stance on the recommended quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardio respiratory and muscular fitness, and flexibility

2–4. Diabetes, Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Metabolism

Diabetes has reached endemic proportions, affecting 170 million individuals worldwide . One unfortunate health consequence of physical inactivity is the weakening of the body’s insulin regulatory mechanisms. Elevated insulin and blood glucose levels are characteristic features involved in the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellifluous. When insulin function starts breaking down, the body’s blood sugar levels rise, leading eventually to the onset of “predicates” and then type 2 diabetes. Diabetes incidence is growing among youth and adults

5. Hypertension

Hypertension is a major health problem. Elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels are associated with a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure, stroke and kidney failure. There is a onefold increase in developing these diseases when blood pressure is 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) (Bouchard & Despres 1995). In many cases, clients can reduce elevated blood pressure by decreasing weight and lowering alcohol and salt intake in their diet. PFTs and fitness instructors can also pass along the good word to clients that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (40%–50% of VO₂max), performed 3–5 times per week for 30–60 minutes per session, appears to be effective in reducing blood pressure (when elevated). The evidence that higher-intensity exercise is more or less effective in managing hypertension is at present inconsistent, owing to insufficient data. In a recent meta-analysis of 54 clinical aerobic exercise intervention trials, findings (in hypertensive men and women) included a reduction, on average, of 3.84 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 2.58 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure

6–8. Blood Triglycerides, Cholesterol and LDL Cholesterol 

The link between cholesterol and CHD has been fairly well established through long-term studies of individuals with high levels of blood cholesterol and the incidence of CHD. As high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (good cholesterol) levels increase, they are independently associated with lower risk of CHD (Neiman 2003). It is also well established that a sedentary lifestyle contributes significantly to the development of CHD and to unfavorable elevation of blood fats and cholesterol levels; physical activity plays an important role in decreasing these health risks.

The exercise thresholds established from longitudinal and cross-sectional training studies indicate that 15–20 miles per week of jogging or brisk walking, which is equivalent to 1,200–2,200 kilo calories of energy expenditure, may decrease blood triglycerides by 5–38 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) (Dustiness et al. 2002). That same threshold of exercise (15–20 miles per week of jogging or brisk walking) has been shown to elevate HDL-C (a positive alteration) by 2–8 mg/dl. Dustiness and colleagues further conclude that exercise training studies rarely show a decrease in total cholesterol or LDL-C (the bad cholesterol), unless there is a loss of body weight or a decrease in dietary fat

9. Stroke

Physical activity exerts a positive effect in lessening the risk of stroke in men and women. Individuals who engage in moderate to high amounts of physical activity have a lower risk of stroke incidence compared with people who accumulate little exercise. Statistics show that those who are moderately active have a 20% lower risk of stroke while those who are highly active have a 27% lower risk of stroke 

0–13. Colon, Breast, Lung and Multiple Myeloma Cancers

Physical activity and exercise are correlated with a lower incidence of colon cancer in men and women, and breast cancer in women. Lee (2018) reports that moderate to vigorous physical activity has a greater protective effect than lower intensities of physical activity. She notes that physically active men and women have a 30%–40% reduction in relative risk for colon cancer compared with their inactive counterparts. It seems that about 30–60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day is needed for this risk reduction, with higher levels of exercise showing even lower risk. In addition, physically active women have a 20%–40% reduction in relative risk for breast cancer compared with their inactive counterparts. It also appears that the 30–60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day is needed to elicit this level of risk reduction. Although more research is needed, it appears that physically active individuals may also have a lower risk of lung cancer,

14. Osteoporosis

Physical activities that stimulate bone growth need to include progressive overload and must address variation and specificity of load. Specificity of load refers to exercises that directly place a load on a certain region of the skeleton. With osteoporosis, a degenerative disease characterized by a loss of bone mineral density resulting in a susceptibility to bone fractures and health problems, it appears that resistance training and weight-bearing aerobic exercise may provide the needed stimulus for bone formation

15–16. Musculoskeletal Health and Sarcopenia

Muscle mass, strength, power and endurance are essential contri­buting factors for the improvement of musculoskeletal health and the enhancement of movement capabilities (Marcell 2003). Although these components of musculoskeletal health show substantial decreases with age, it has been suggested in the Marcell research that this is due largely to a decrease in physical activity, and not solely to age.

Sarcophagi is the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength (Marvell 2018). Marvell adds that the rate of muscle loss with age is relatively consistent, approximately 1%–2% per year starting at age 50. He notes that there is a linear relationship with loss of muscle strength and loss of independence, contributing to falls, fractures and admissions into nursing homes. In addition, there is a decrease in metabolic rate and maximal oxygen consumption (owing to the loss of muscle mass).

17–18. Body Composition and Obesity

Obesity has risen to epidemic levels in the U.S., with more than 65% of adults overweight and 31% obese (ACSM 2006). According to the CDC , overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for hypertension, osteoarthritis, abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep neap, respiratory problems and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).

The most favorable approach to weight loss is one that includes committed cardiovascular exercise, resistance training and caloric restriction within a sound behavioral-modification delivery program. Weight loss is achieved most effectively when cardiovascular exercise is increased up to 200–300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity accumulated over 5–7 days per week (which is equivalent to expending ≥ 2,000 kilo calories per week exercising) . 

Resistance training and circuit training research has shown meaningful changes in body composition (Marx et al. 2018). One of the noteworthy benefits of resistance exercise, as it relates to body composition, is the positive impact of maintaining or increasing fat-free body mass while encouraging the loss of fat body weight in a progressive overload resistance training program.

19. Stress

A growing body of research over the last 10 years substantiates that physical activity and exercise also improve psychological well-being . It is important to clarify that much of the research presented here is cor relational, which means that the scientists studied the associations that exist between exercise and mental health variables, and not the causal relationships. Published investigations conclude that individuals with improved levels of fitness are capable of managing stress more effectively than those who are less fit . The data suggest an inverse relationship: higher physical fitness is associated with lower levels of stress. It appears that the method of exercise that most benefits stress reduction is cardiovascular exercise. Studies describe the role of exercise in managing stress as a preventive intervention as opposed to a corrective intervention.

20. Anxiety

According to the dictionary, anxiety is “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune.” It is a stage of apprehension. The results of over 30 published papers substantiate a link between acute and chronic exercise and the reduction of anxiety