Fitness for Health - Active Health

Physical activity and health:

Cross-sectional epidemiologic studies and controlled, experimental investigations have demonstrated that physically active adults, as contrasted with their sedentary counterparts, tend to develop and maintain higher levels of physical fitness.

Epidemiologic research has demonstrated protective effects of varying strength between physical activity and risk for several chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, colon cancer, and anxiety and depression.

Other epidemiologic studies have shown that low levels of habitual physical activity and low levels of physical fitness are associated with markedly increased all-cause mortality rates.
A midlife increase in physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of mortality. It has been estimated that as many as 250 000 deaths per year in the United States, approximately 12% of the total, are attributable to a lack of regular physical activity.

The conclusions of these epidemiologic studies are supported by experimental studies showing that exercise training improves CHD risk factors and other health-related factors, including blood lipid profile, resting blood pressure in borderline hypertensives, body composition, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, bone density, immune function and psychological function.

Epidemiologic criteria used to establish causal relationships can be applied to the association between physical activity and CHD.

Diabetes

You may consider exercise a nuisance, a chore, or simply a bore. But if you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you need to look at physical activity in a whole new light. Now it's a tool. Just like taking a drug or altering your diet, exercise can lower blood sugar on its own, even if you don't lose weight.

"Exercising is the most underused treatment and it's so, so powerful," said Sharon Movsas, RD, a diabetes nutrition specialist at the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
For most people with diabetes, exercise is a safe and highly recommended way to reduce the risk of complications. However, check with your doctor to make sure you don't have heart problems, nerve damage, or other issues that need special consideration when you are working out.

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