| Fitness
and Wellness
Benefits
of Exercise
Heart
Failure:
Traditionally,
heart failure patients have been discouraged from exercising.
Now, exercise is proving to be helpful for many of these patients
and, when performed under medical supervision, does not pose a
risk for a heart attack. In one study, patients between the ages
of 61 and 91 increased their oxygen consumption by 20% after six
months by engaging in supervised treadmill and stationary bicycle
exercises. Performing daily hand grip exercises may improve blood
flow through the arteries of patients with heart failure.
Diabetes:
Is
reaching epidemic proportions throughout the world as more and
more cultures adopt Western dietary habits. Aerobic exercise is
proving to have significant and particular benefits for people
with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes; it increases sensitivity
to insulin, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels,
and decreases body fat.
Regular
exercise, even of moderate intensity, improves insulin sensitivity.
In fact, studies of older people who engage in regular, moderate,
aerobic exercise (e.g., brisk walking, biking) lower their risk
for diabetes even if they don't lose weight. Anyone on insulin
or who has complications from diabetes must take special precautions
before embarking on a workout program.
Osteoporosis:
Exercise
is very important for slowing the progression of osteoporosis.
Women should begin exercising before adolescence, since bone mass
increases during puberty and reaches its peak between ages 20
and 30. Weight bearing exercise, which applies tension to muscle
and bone, encourages the body to compensate for the added stress
by increasing bone density by as much as 2% to 8% a year.
High-impact
weight-bearing exercises, such as step aerobics, are very protective
for premenopausal women. These exercises, however, increase the
risk for osteoporotic fractures in elderly patients, who would
benefit most from regular, brisk, long walks. Even moderate exercise
(as little as an hour a week) helps reduce the risk for fracture,
but everyone who is in good health should aim for more.
Careful
weight training is beneficial as well for older women. Low-impact
exercises that improve balance and strength, particularly yoga
and T'ai Chi, have been found to decrease the risk of falling;
in one study, T'ai Chi reduced the risk by almost half.
Lung
Disease:
Although
exercise does not improve lung function (except for intense, regular
aerobic exercise), training helps some patients with chronic lung
disease by strengthening their limb muscles, thus improving endurance
and reducing breathlessness.
Cancer:
A
number of studies have indicated that regular, even moderate,
exercise reduces the risk of colon cancer. Strenuous activity,
in fact, adds only slight or no additional benefit. Moderate exercise
may also help reduce the risk for prostate cancer and possibly
for breast cancer. A recent study of 100,000 nurses, however,
suggested that the benefits of exercise on breast health may be
greater or lesser at different times in a woman's life, depending
on her menstrual status and estrogen levels. For example, the
study found no added protection against from exercise in young
adulthood (when the disease is uncommon in any case).
|
