OK, I am really talking about exercise here, but I loathe the word. Why? because for the last two decades it has only been an exercise in futility for me...or has it? Many of us who are overweight, or are struggling to maintain our weight, find the exercise part of diet & exercise difficult. There is never time, there is never energy, you don't have the right equipment, the excuses are many...and I have used them all at one time or another.
We have all heard and been aware of the benefits of exercise, something new seems to pop up nearly every month, with every study, but unlike so many conflicting food reports, each exercise study only confirms, and adds, to what we already know...it is very, very good for you.
Here are a list of diseases that can be prevented with regular exercise, or at the very least, the conditions of which could be improved making life easier and more comfortable.
The list is massive, and while thorough, only what we have studied to date, it grows larger every month. Conservatively thinking here, the list above probably constitutes over 75% of early death and injury figures in the country. As I was compiling the links, and reading through a number of different ones, I was struck by the magic pill that exercise seems to be, in study after study, simply walking briskly for 30 minutes or more, more days than not, can literally save your life from a premature death, and barring that, make it a hell of a lot more comfortable. In each case above, there were accompanying studies that that suggest that should you have, say breast cancer, that exercise can even improve you survivability and recovery time. Amazing. Astounding. With out a doubt, exercise activity, is the most important aspect of improving your health.
If you have a few moments, click on the links above and look for the common threads. Does something from the list run in your family? Are you genetically more predisposed to one thing over another? For my part, I plan on coming back to this post, may even make it a side bar item. I think it will help me, and remind me when I am feeling a bit lethargic, that I run the real possibility of feeling a whole lot worse. Get your paws ready Max, were going for a walk tonight!
Ack now you're talking - and talking so well that you're making me feel guilty for laying here like a slug with my laptop or my book. I should have taken the dogs for a walk. No, I hate walking those animals. I should have taken my s/o and the kids for a walk. OK I'm gonna work on that - tomorrow, walking it will be.
Posted by: Denise | January 18, 2006 at 20:40
Diabetes is what I'm trying to avoid. I love the feeling of having exercised once I'm done. Doing it is sometimes another matter.
Posted by: Margaret | January 18, 2006 at 22:46
Wow, what a list. And I didn't even click any of the links.
I llok every day at your post that says Diet & Exercise are not one word, as I am inclined to lump them together. Fall off one, abandon the other. Conversely, I seem to only be able to do one or the other; I can't get my eating right if I'm working out (I get too hungry) and if I'm eating right, I'm too tired to work out!
Posted by: Felicity | January 19, 2006 at 06:48
I know from first-hand experience that my blood sugar levels were so normal after I started getting regular planned activity into my life that my doctor pronounced my diabetes "all but cured". (Too bad I didn't keep it up, but that's another story.) Activity really is the key to health and well-being...wonder why it seems so hard for those that need it most?
Posted by: Denise | January 20, 2006 at 12:15
What a good chance!
Posted by: madhands | January 30, 2010 at 11:00