Why I Exercise...

[deborahjross]

besides because I like feeling fit and strong, and it's a marvelous way to destress:

I nabbed this from Shape magazine (March, 2011), their source the International Journal of Clinical Practice. In a review of literature, exercise reduced the risk of the following disease:

Heart disease - 50%
Hip fractures - 41%
Colon cancer - 40%
Breast cancer - 30%
Depression - 28%

They didn't give a figure for diabetes (AODM II, adult-onset type), but I'll bet it's right up there.

This does not mean that if you exercise, you will be 100% protected, but it is one risk factor you can control. Considering that I am at risk for all of these, either from family history, age/gender, or personal history, I think regular exercise -- doing something fun -- is a pretty good deal.

Comments

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

See also a policy statement this week from the American Heart Association: http://www.newsroom.heart.org/index.php?s=43&item=1385

"People often don't realize the power to stay healthy is in their own hands," said William S. Weintraub, M.D., lead author of the statement and the John H. Ammon chair of cardiology and cardiology section chief at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del. "But it's not something many individuals or families can do alone. It takes fundamental changes from society as a whole."


For me, I hate exercising in a gym and am no good at team sports, but I love active transportation (walking & cycling), so I do that.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link! I hadn't seen it, but all this makes sense. We're so vulnerable to environmental cues to eat too much or eat the wrong things, even when we are aware of how bad they are for us.

I love your idea of active transportation. Since my back injury earlier this year, I'm still building back up to being able to walk into town (3+ miles RT) for my afternoon break, combining it with trips to bank or post office and of course walking the dog. I like to start my mornings with yoga, mat Pilates or a bit of strength training, then have a longer session later in the day when I need to get up and stretch anyway. When the weather's bad, I'll do some DDR or hop on the stationary bicycle (with an episode of something fun on the little TV/DVD player).