Increasingly in our world, where almost every essential task can be performed online, from the driver’s seat, or with a phone call, exercising and being physically fit is a tough sell. Yet physical fitness and exercise is one of the simplest and most effective ways to cut your risk of cardiovascular disease. It will also bring you’re your blood glucose levels and improve overall health and well-being.

We all know that we should exercise, yet survey shows that only 30% of the adult population in the United States gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity. And did you know that 25% are not active at all.

Inactivity is thought to be one of the main reasons for the big increase of type 2 diabetes in America. This is because inactivity and obesity causes insulin resistance. It also causes other factors that trigger many other kinds of diseases.

In 2003, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism published an article regarding a study they had done that found that a lack of exercise and physical fitness were “the key factors” behind obesity and other serious diseases like diabetes.

But here is some great news; it is never too late to get started. Exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling the onset of all kinds of diseases. For those people who are already candidates for diabetes and heart failure and other serious disease, exercise and physical fitness is the place to start. It can improve your insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

So How Do You Getting Started

The first thing you need to do before you start any exercise plan, especially if you have been a couch potato and are overweight, is to consult with your health care provider. If you have or are susceptible to cardiac factors, your doctor may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.

Your present health and condition will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can certainly pose a risk for people with certain health issues if not guided properly. You may need to avoid foot-intensive weight-bearing exercises such as long-distance walking, jogging, or step aerobics and opt instead for low-impact activities like swimming, biking, and rowing. If you have conditions that make exercise and physical fitness challenging, your health care provider may refer you to an exercise physiologist who will be able to design a fitness program for your specific needs.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it can still be beneficial for you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor.

The bottom line is that your physical fitness and exercise shouldn’t be an activity that you make to difficult for you to do. Your exercise routine to start off with should be as simple as a brisk nightly walk in the neighborhood, or walking the dog, or simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

The important thing is to get moving. Every little bit really helps.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

10 Responses to “The Importance of Physical Fitness”