Page 17 - March Newsletter

If your doctor gave you a prescription for exercise, would you follow it? Exercise is like medicine for many reasons. Physical activity strengthens muscles, and it also prevents blood vessels from getting damaged and clogged. In turn, this helps prevent heart attacks, strokes, and even some types of dementia. In fact, reg- ular exercise can be as good as medication at pre- venting diabetes and heart disease in at-risk people. And, it is even more effective than drugs for stroke re- covery.You can realize both immediate and long-term benefits from physical activity. Some immediate benefits include better mood, improvedmemory, better ability to con-centrate, and better decision making. You may feel less anxi- ety, your blood pressure may be lower, you may have better insulin sensitivity, and exercise can help you sleep better.Regular physical activity canpostpone and prevent manychronic conditions. It can alsotreat and even reverse somechronic conditions such as dia-betes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Other long-term benefits include a lower risk of depression and anxiety, lower risk of dementia and cognitive im- pairment, and it aids in maintaining a healthy weight. Exercise can lower the risk of developing some cancers, especially breast, prostate, and colon cancer.What does “regular” exercise mean?To answer this question, refer to the Physical ActivityGuidelines for Americans, which are based on the latest science. They include specific recommendations for different ages and stag- es of the lifespan. Key mes- sages and guidelines foradults are to move more and sit less throughout the day and to “move your way.” For greatest health bene- fits, adults should do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vig- orous intensity aerobic physical activity per week. (Or, use a combination of moderate and vigorous.)Moderate intensity is working at a level where you can barely carry on a conversation, but not sing. Vigorous is when you are able to say a few words, but not a sen- tence. Adults should also do muscle strengthening ac- tivities that involve all muscle groups on two or more days per week.How are we doing?Even though most people are aware of the pow- erful benefits from exercise, they don’t get enough. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 47% of U.S. adults meet Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic physical activity and only 24% meet the guidelines for both aero- bic and muscle-strengthening activity. In addi- tion, the World Health Organization (WHO) pro- jects the economic burden of physical inactivity to reach nearly $300 billion by 2030.So, why don’t people get enough physical activi-ty Some of the common barriers include lack of motivation, not enough time, and lack of access to ex- ercise facilities and equipment. Some people don’t like to exercise or be active, they are too tired, or they are not sure what type of activity is good or how to do spe- cific exercises.In the next articles we will explore barriers to leading an active lifestyle. Hopefully something will direct you toward a path to make active habits stick.