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Why is Exercise Good for You?
Evidence suggests that people who have an active lifestyle have many benefits such as helping prevent or manage health conditions. In an oversimplified manner, the benefit of exercise is that it increases the metabolic demand of the muscle(more blood/oxygen),Thus increasing cardiovascular efficiency. The more work muscles get, the stronger they get and increases bone strength because of the constant compression. The increased need for more oxygen demands the lungs to have better pulmonary ventilation. Your body will learn to adapt to this positive acute stress and can cause a better structured hormonal system. All these physiological changes can make exercise an anti-aging treatment.
An Active Lifestyle Reinforces the Effect of a Healthy Diet on Cognitive Function: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study
This study was conducted on the relationship between an active lifestyle and cognitive function. The findings of the study showed that an active lifestyle reinforced the effect of a healthy diet on preserved cognitive function, and further decreased the risk of cognitive decline. This is very important for adults/elderly people because as we age our cognitive abilities decline. Therefore it is vital that we do activities that maintain and improve our cognition without it rapidly decreasing with age.
“With a rising prevalence of dementia around the world, there is an urgent need to identify opportunities for prevention” (Shakersain et al., 2018).
The method used in this population-based logitudinal study was a random sample of community residents greater than or equal to 60 years of age in Stockholm, Sweden. The study utilized tests such as MMSE, SFFQ, and SNAC-K to find the relationship between an active lifestyle and cognitive function.
“This study provides the first evidence that a healthy diet together with active engagement in physical, mental, and social leisure activities may additionally preserve cognitive function and even lessen the risk for MMSE decline to ≤24. These findings suggest that an active lifestyle may reinforce the beneficial effect of a healthy diet on cognitive function, and highlights the need for both healthy diet and active engagement in leisure activities in late life for better prevention of dementing disorders” (Shakersain et al., 2018).
Other Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity
Exercise can help with:
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Able to do daily activities more easily
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Control your weight
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Stronger bones and muscles
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Improve your mood
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Less likelihood of falls
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Boots Immunity
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Improve metabolism
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