SolveYourProblem eLearning Series:
I'm an Active Senior
Who Wants To Stay Healthy
( 50 aticles in this series )

New Year’s Resolution For Seniors: Exercise
   

There was a time when people stated that the only two sure things in life were death and taxes. But all of the recent research points to one additional certainty, the slogan, "Get Fit, For Life."

The growing opinion of all researchers is that exercise, even in its most modest forms, is simply the best prescription for both physical and mental health. If you want to continue your quality of life as you age, then exercise is found to be the best remedy. That notion is reflected across all age groups, whether you are female or male, and is also independent of cultural differences.

The failure to be active is putting you at a major risk for coronary artery disease. In fact, inactivity creates a major risk for coronary issues such as smoking, unhealthy cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Regular exercise can improve the health of your heart and actually reverse some health risk factors such as that of smoking. Like all body muscles, the heart is also a muscle and will become stronger as a result of exercise. Cardiovascular workouts can strengthen the heart which in turn helps it pump more blood with every beat and sustains its maximum level with less strain. That translates to a slower heart rate while resting because less effort is needed to pump blood throughout the body.

People who exercise vigorously and often will reduce the risk of heart disease the greatest, but studies also show that any exercise can be beneficial. Studies have found that moderate exercise is also beneficial for those people with existing heart disease.

Another example of the positive effects of exercise is the impact found on people getting the common cold. A University of South Carolina study analyzed data over the course of a year, studying the behaviors of more than 500 healthy women and men. The study group, with the average age of 48, yielded some noteworthy findings. Though all participants in the research were healthy, not all exercised regularly. The exercise patterns ranged from those who did no exercise to those who spent at least 30 minutes in moderate exercise. The study then compared the physical activity to the intensity and the number of colds the participants had over the course of the year.

The findings were exactly as one would think. Those who got at least a moderate amount of exercise on just a few days a week averaged just one cold. In the study, the less active participants reported more than 4 colds in the year. The greatest benefit came during the prime cold season in the fall when nearly 40 percent of all colds were reported. The more active participants showed a reduction of 32 percent during the prime cold season.

A second study by David Nieman of Appalachian State University found that those who exercised recovered more quickly when they did come down with a cold. Nieman's study focused on women compared those who walked regularly to those that did not. The more active group who still got colds had symptoms that usually lasted for less than five days, while the women in the less active group had colds that lasted seven days.

Being physically active appears to stimulate immune cells that target many viruses and infections. Though exercise appears to stimulate such cells, that stimulation appears to last only a few hours. However, regular exercise appears to lower the overall risk of being susceptible to the flu, colds, and other viruses.

When it comes to weight and weight gain, the benefits of exercise have always been known. But to be frank, moderately intense exercise of 30 minutes may not in and of itself be enough to prevent weight gain. Current recommendations suggest that 45 to 60 minutes per day is more appropriate if you want to prevent weight gain. In addition, exercise will not simply melt excess pounds away magically. To lose significant weight, both increased exercise and reduced calorie intake is required. What many people are unaware of is that the person exercises without dieting may not lose any actual weight because as we exercise we replace fat with more dense and heavier muscle mass.

But the psychological effects of exercise on dieting patterns as well as weight control also appear to be very significant. Studies indicate that people who exercise regularly are more apt to stay on a diet plan once a plan has been implemented. Some studies have reported that even modest exercise patterns lead to mild appetite suppression. Why that is so is still unclear but exercise appears to improve a person's psychological well being and give the person more will power to resist breaking from the diet, exercise replaces the sedentary habits like watching television that is often accompanied by the urge to snack.

Most importantly, exercise without dieting still adds extraordinary health benefits. One study reported that people who are overweight but fit have half the death rate of overweight and unfit people. Other studies have suggested that people who have exercised regularly for many years develop efficient body mechanisms that help burn fat and thereby contribute to a person's staying leaner as they age.

Yet another study reported a 58% lower risk for Type 2 diabetes in adults who exercise for as little as 2.5 hours a week, even if the exercise was of a moderate level. That level of exercise reduces the risk in overweight people, even if those people remain overweight. Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity. People with diabetes are at high risk for heart disease, so the protective effects of aerobic exercise on the heart are very important for people with Type 2 diabetes. Initial indications are that strength training to increase muscle mass and reduce patient fat is also helpful for people with diabetes.

And perhaps the most interesting positive report to date on the healthy effects of exercise is a British Journal of Sports Medicine that suggests that aerobic exercise can help to lift depression. Though the authors of this study used a very small sample of just twelve people, the pilot also suggested that regular exercise works faster than antidepressant drugs in treating depression.

Click here to discover my current SolveYourProblem recommendation and choice pick for the fastest, easiest and best exercise / fitness solution you'll find anywhere. Get it and reward yourself with more more energy and a healthier life.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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