We all know exercise is good for us – there really is no argument there. But just how good is it really?
Well, it does WAY more than just burn calories.
Researchers have been studying the effects of exercise on the body, as well as the effect it has on certain illnesses and ailments specifically.
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Although we don’t think of it this way, you can make a pretty good argument that exercise is as good as drugs for many conditions. A meta-analysis of meta-analyses (that’s how much data we have) combined and analyzed the results from 16 reviews of randomized controlled trials of drug and exercise interventions in reducing mortality. Collectively, these included 305 trials with almost 340,000 participants.
That’s a lot of research, and you know what they found?
Exercise is just as effective, or more effective, of a treatment for strokes and coronary heart disease than the traditional pharmaceutical drug prescriptions. This means that your risk of death decreased more by simply exercising than by taking a bunch of pills. This is HUGE! Diuretic drugs were really the only drug that seemed to be superior to exercise in preventing death from heart failure.
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If that is not enough data for you, dozens and dozens of studies have shown that exercise is effective and beneficial for the following health issues as well:
- Osteoarthritis of the Knee – Improved pain and function (32 trials)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis – Increases aerobic capacity, muscle strength (10 trials)
- Anklosing Spondylitis – Improved musculoskeletal conditions
- Heart Attack – Reduced cardiac mortality rate by 31% (14 trials)
- Hypertension – Improved cholesterol and triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure
- Heart Failure – Physiological Benefits (14 trials)
- Diabetes – Lower HbAiC values
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – Walk farther, function better (20 trials)
- Parkinson’s Disease – Improved physical function and quality of life
- Multiple Sclorosis – Improved muscle power and mobility, better mood (6 trials)
- Depression – Improves symptoms (23 trials)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Improves symptoms (5 trials)
- Cancer Therapy – Lessened fatigue
The best part about all of this exercise talk, is that you really don’t have to exercise THAT much. Specialists recommend that you exercise for about 150 minutes per week, which averages out to roughly 30 minutes each weekday (yeah, you even get weekends off!).
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Want some even better news? You don’t have to do P90X or Insanity for your workouts either – moderate level exercise is all that is required. Walking briskly, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, or even walking the dog may qualify! The goal is simply to keep your heart rate between 110 and 140 BPM.
Curated article from:
NY Times
