The reasons for avoiding physical activity are as numerous as their advantages. There are some ideas we have to spice up your day.

 

You are well aware of the health benefits of exercise. You might not be aware of how effective exercise is or exactly what counts as exercise. That is the main topic of this Health Letter issue. Physical activity's role in maintaining our health is a very old one. Hippocrates wrote about the risks of insufficient exercise (and too much food). Tai chi, a graceful movement training regimen with Chinese roots, has been practiced since the 12th century B.C. In India, the history of yoga is far older.

But outdated theories don't always hold up to scrutiny or have a lot of supporting data. This isn't a problem for physical activity, also known as exercise, which many researchers prefer because it's more inclusive. Numerous research has confirmed its positive effects on health. Many of them are observational, which always has the issue of demonstrating associations (those who exercise happen to be healthy) rather than demonstrating cause and effect (those who exercise are healthy as a result of the exercise). However, after making necessary statistical modifications, this research implies that there is more than just a relationship between exercise and health. Additionally, evidence from randomized clinical studies, which is typically used to establish causation, suggests that exercise makes people healthier.

Aside from the sheer volume, what's amazing about this research is how many conditions it appears that exercise can delay, improve, or avoid.

 

We frequently hear that exercising can prevent heart attacks. In 1972, the American Heart Association released the first set of exercise recommendations in the nation. Furthermore, it is simple to understand how exercise benefits the heart. Exercise trains your heart to beat more slowly and forcefully, which requires less oxygen to operate properly. It also makes your arteries more elastic, which improves blood flow, and raises your levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

It also comes as little surprise that exercise aids in the prevention of diabetes. Fit people are less likely to experience a rise in blood sugar levels because their muscles are more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that drives blood sugar into cells.

 

But what if you used exercise to fight cancer? It appears to be, and on a number of fronts: the breast, colon, endometrium, and possibly the ovary. Although some research suggests that it takes quite a bit of physical exercise to make a difference—four to seven hours of moderate to strenuous activity per week—it is possible that the effect of physical activity on breast cancer prevention is stronger after menopause than it was before. Physical activity lowers the likelihood of breast or colon cancer recurrence, according to three studies.

 

To top it all off, moving your body appears to benefit your brain. Exercise alters the brain in ways similar to those induced by antidepressant medicines, and studies have shown that it helps lessen the symptoms of depression. Exercise can enhance certain parts of thinking even after dementia has begun, which may help prevent the fall from cognitive decline into dementia as people age.

Easy to Avoid

Making decisions is required to follow nutritional advice because we must eat. Change saturated fats for wholesome oils. Rather than processed carbohydrates, choose whole grains.

 

However, many individuals today—perhaps even the majority—don't need need to be physically active unless they want to be. And the majority of research points to the fact that whether or not to engage in an activity at all is significantly more crucial than the type of activity chosen. One of the most frequently mentioned recommendations asks for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (a fast walking speed) most days of the week, which can be broken up into intervals of 10 to 15 minutes. However, almost half of adult Americans fail to fulfill this need. A quarter of American adults claim to spend no free time engaging in physical activity.

It's obvious that some of us are less athletic than others, and some people who aren't athletic were just born that way. According to twin studies, approximately half of the variance in physical activity between individuals is likely hereditary. Additionally, progress is being made in the identification of certain genes that may affect how our bodies react to physical activity. They have discovered some of the genes, for instance, that alter the beta-agonist receptors in the lungs. Those receptors play a role in how your heart and lungs respond to intense activity.

Genetic justifications for actions like exercising, however, are limited. Numerous other factors are at play, including family, neighborhood, cultural norms, and historical events. Unsurprisingly, research has found that active kids are more likely to have parents who supported their active lifestyle. Parents' perceived levels of involvement also appear to be important. Neighborhood design and safety are important considerations, especially for young children. Children watching television at home instead of going outside to play in a risky area may be a better option for their health simply because it is safer.