A healthy lifestyle includes daily physical activity. Reduce your risk for chronic illness and obesity by getting regular exercise. Here’s what you need to know to get started

Physical activity is body movement by the skeletal muscles that uses energy (ie: burns calories). It is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, physical inactivity has been proven to be a major risk factor in the development of coronary artery disease. Adults who are physically fit are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes, and cancer of the colon. Physically active adults have less obesity, depression, anxiety and greater bone mass density.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00046823.htm

Millions of Americans suffer from illnesses that can be prevented or minimized through regular physical activity:

• 13.5 million people have coronary heart disease
• 1.5 million people suffer from a heart attack in a given year
• 50 million people have high blood pressure

Recent studies are showing that you don’t need to climb a mountain or run a marathon to be physically fit. You simply need to be active everyday. The recommend level of activity is 30-60 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days a week – this can be in divided periods of 10-15 minutes each.

The following table provides information on calories burned per hour of selected activities

Source: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. NIH. http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/oei_ss/download/pdf/PRACTICAL4.pdf

In order to be physically fit, you need to include a variety of type of activities into your day, including activities that build your muscle strength and endurance, your overall flexibility and your heart-lung fitness. Our focus here is on cardio-respiratory (heart – lung) fitness which strengthens the heart. When the heart is fit, the body’s ability to use oxygen, which is the fuel for the cells to do their work, is also in good shape. Cardio-respiratory fitness allows people to last longer when participating in activities such as running, walking, climbing stairs, riding a bike or swimming. Cardio-respiratory fitness means blood is pumped through the heart and blood vessels with greater ease, thereby feeding the working muscles more fuel (oxygen) for work.

Burning at least 250 calories a day through aerobic exercise, such as walking briskly for 45 minutes or jogging for 25 minutes, confers the greatest protection against coronary artery disease.

Exercise benefits the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in the following ways:

• It enlarges and strengthens the heart . This results in a slower resting heart-rate. This is beneficial because it indicates that the heart is strong enough to pump the same amount of blood with fewer beats! The heart works more efficiently.
• It promotes lower resting blood pressure . Moderate exercise is more beneficial than high intensity exercise in lowering blood pressure. Exercises such as T’ai Chi which uses slow and relaxed movements may lower blood pressure as well as moderate intensity exercises.

Caution : consult a physician before beginning an exercise program if you have high blood pressure. Also, avoid caffeine intake before exercising (this increases the heart rate and work load and raises the blood pressure)

• It increases the blood flow to the arms and legs . The vascular system (the blood vessels) becomes more elastic which reduces the risk of clogged arteries and the resulting pain and danger.
• It raises HDL (good) cholesterol and lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol .

Caution: short bursts of aerobic exercise have been shown to increase LDL oxidation which is dangerous to the heart.

Precaution: aim for consistency in an exercise program. Consult a physician before undertaking strenuous exercise.

• It increases lung volume, which allows improved oxygenation . (Oxygenation is required to burn calories.)
• It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• Regular physical activity or cardio-respiratory fitness decreases the risk of death from heart disease in general and of death from coronary heart disease in particular. Existing dat a are not conclusive regarding a relationship between physical activity and stroke.
• The level of decreased risk of coronary heart disease attributable to regular physical activity is similar to that of other lifestyle factors, such as keeping free from cigarette smoking.
• Regular physical activity prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure, and exercise reduces blood pressure in people with hypertension.

Cardio-respiratory activities include those that use the large muscle groups such as the legs and arms. Cardio-respiratory fitness can be improved through regular participation in every day activities such as these:

• Washing and waxing a car for 45 – 60 minutes
• Washing windows or floors for 45-60 minutes
• Gardening for 30-45 minutes
• Wheeling self in a wheelchair for 30-40 minutes
• Pushing a stroller for 1.5 miles / 30 minutes
• Raking leaves for 30 minutes
• Walking 2 miles in 30 minutes (15 min/mile)
• Shoveling snow for 15 minutes
• Stair-walking for 15 minutes.

Caution: If you can’t talk during exercise because you are becoming breathless, you are exercising too vigorously and need to reduce the pace.

Get motivated. Review these benefits of regular physical activity:

It helps you feel better because it:

• Boosts your energy
• Helps you cope with stress
• Improves your self-image
• Increases your resistance to fatigue
• Helps counter anxiety and depression
• Helps you relax
• Improves your sleep
• Provides a social outlet with friends, family

It helps you look better because it:

• Tones your muscles
• Burns off calories to help with weight control
• Helps you control your appetite

It burns calories

• Each extra pound of food requires that you burn 3,500 calories to balance it