1. Health Benefits of Physical Activity

2. Physical Activity and Health
What physical activity can do for health
Reduces risks of many chronic diseases
Promotes weight control
Slows premature aging
Improves quality of life
physical activity provides a number of other benefits for overall wellness (e.g. stress management, enjoyment, social interactions etc…)

3. Physical Activity
Physical activity and good physical fitness can reduce risk of illness and contribute to optimal health and wellness BUT…
Physical activity is not a panacea for all medical conditions but it is probably the best single thing a person can do for their health

4. Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
Improved cardiorespiratory fitness
Increased ability of the circulatory system to provide oxygen
Reduced risk of Heart Disease
Prevention of Hypertension
Reduced cancer risk
Breast and Colon Cancer
Improved bone mass
Osteoporosis

5. Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
Improved weight control
Exercise with moderate decrease in food intake can help a person lose weight
Improved health and increased lifespan
Prevention of Diabetes
Longer Life Span
Improved Immunity to Disease
Improved mental health and stress management
Reduced stress levels by accelerating body’s return to balanced state

6. Some Health Benefits of Regular Exercise
Figure 11.1

7. Hypokinetic Hypo-= little or none -Kinetic= exercise/movement
Hypokinetic= inactivity, little exercise
Almost all chronic diseases that plague society are considered to be hypokinetic.
Some relate more to inactivity than others.

8. Hypokinetic Conditions
Cardiovascular disease
Cancer
Back problems
Obesity
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Mental health
There are numerous diseases that are related to physical inactivity. These are referred to as hypokinetic diseases.
A public advocacy group has recently coined the term sedentary death syndrome (SeDS) to describe inactive
living and associated hypokinetic disease risk factors. They indicate that SeDS is responsible for the epidemic
of chronic disease in our society and resulting increases in health costs. It is expected that, in the next few years,
expenditures for health care will account for one-fifth of all spending in the United States. 6

9. Physical Activity and the Healthy Heart
Produces a strong heart muscle
Promotes good collateral circulation
The heart is a muscle and like any other muscle gets stronger with regular use. A strong heart muscle can pump more blood per beat (co/q) which allows the heart to work more easily. A strong heart also has good collateral circulation which improves the delivery of oxygen to the heart muscle. 8

10. Physical Activity (PA) and Heart
Strong heart can meet the demands of PA more easily.
Heart: muscle…must be exercised regularly to get stronger!
Exercise can lead to a lower heart rate, greater stroke volume and cardiac output
Heart rate is considered a good indicator of physical fitness when looking at response to exercise/low heart rates

11. PA and Heart Attack
Regular PA reduces the risk for heart attack (most prevalent of Cardiovascular Disease: CVD)
Less chance of a clot forming, greater diameter of arteries, less atheroschlerosis
Regular exercise can improve coronary circulation (growth of “extra” blood vessels)

12. Physical Activity & Other Cardiovascular Diseases
Reduced risk of high blood pressure (hypertension)
Reduced the risk of stroke
Prevention of peripheral vascular disease
Reduction in CVD deaths

13. Hypertension High Blood pressure- silent killer
Systolic: 120 mmHg or less (top #)
Diastolic: 80 mmHg or less (bottom #)
Prehypertension: warning stage for Hypertension
If you are inactive: 30 %- 50% chance of becoming prehypertensive

14. Activity Reduces the Risk of Some Cancers
Reduced transit time
Decreased risk of colon-rectal cancer
Reduced levels of hormones
Decreased risk of breast cancer and some reproductive cancers
Improved immune system
Reduced levels of body fat
Activity has been shown to reduce the risk of colon-rectal cancer by reducing the transit time required to move foods through the intestine.
Runner’s poop?!
Activity has also been shown to have some protective effect on breast cancer and some of the reproductive cancers - most likely by reducing the levels of circulating hormones. Other possible mechanisms are an improved immune system and lower levels of body fatness. 12

16. Back Problems
80% of the population will experience back pain at some point in their life
Back problems are a major cause of inactivity in adults
Back problems are a major problem in our society. 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point in their life. Back pain is also one of the most common reasons for inactivity among adults.
What do you think causes back pain? I can’t perform certain movements due to back pain. In my case, would you consider my back problems due to inactivity? 13

17. Activity Reduces Risk of Back Pain
Improves flexibility of joints and ligaments
Improves musculoskeletal strength and endurance
Physical activity reduces risk of back pain by improving flexibility and improving musculo-skeletal strength and endurance.
Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Basketball… 14

18. Obesity
Over half of the population in the United States is considered to be overweight
Obesity increases the risk of many other diseases
Obesity is a major health problem in our country. It has been estimated that nearly half of the population is overweight and this greatly contributes to the high levels of chronic diseases in the population. 15

20. Activity Promotes Weight Control
Burns calories
Increases rate of metabolism
Promotes fat loss and preserves muscle
Physical activity is considered to be essential for long term weight control. It burns calories, increases the metabolic rate and promotes fat loss while maintaining lean body mass. These factors help a person avoid the problems of “creeping obesity” that plague most individuals as they get older. 16

21. Diabetes Mellitus (DM)
Type I (juvenile onset)
Pancreas fails to produce insulin
Type 2 (adult onset)
Lack of sensitivity to insulin
Often caused by obesity
Diabetes is another chronic condition that plagues many members of our society. Some diabetes (Type 1) originates during childhood when the pancreas fails to produce insulin. The other type of diabetes (Type 2) develops during adulthood and is caused by a lack of sensitivity to insulin which is secondary to obesity. 17

22. Activity Reduces Risks of Diabetes
Type 1
Reduces disease risk
Increases quality of life
Type 2
Decreased insulin requirement
Reduced fatness
Activity reduces the disease risks associated with Type 1 diabetes and also reduces a person’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes 18

23. Osteoporosis Progressive loss of bone mineral density
Occurs commonly in old age
Occurs at an earlier age and more frequently in women than men
Factors associated with osteoporosis
Loss of sex hormones
Low calcium levels
Physical inactivity
High protein intake
Smoking
Caffeine
Osteoporosis is a chronic condition that is characterized by a progressive loss of body mineral density. It occurs commonly in old age and is more common in women than men. 19

24. Physical Activity Reduces Risk of Osteoporosis
Increases peak bone mass
Slows decline in bone mass
Physical activity reduces the risk of osteoporosis by increasing the peak bone mass early in life and slowing the normal decline in bone mass with age. Activity must be weight bearing to have some protective effect. Walking, jogging, weight lifting, aerobics are all considered to be good forms of activity to reduce risks of osteoporosis. 21

25. Physical Activity Improves Emotional Health
Reduced depression
Reduced anxiety
Improved sleep (greater ability to relax)
Increased self-esteem
Activity has also been shown to improve mental health. It reduces depression, anxiety and improves self-esteem. 22

26. Physical Activity and Immune Function
Physical activity can help the immune system fight illness. Until recently, infectious disease and other diseases
of the immune system were not considered to be hypokinetic. Recent evidence indicates that regular moderate to vigorous activity can actually aid the immune system in fighting disease.
Each of us is born with “an innate immune system,” which includes anatomical and physiological barriers, such as skin, mucous membranes, body temperature, and chemical mediators that help prevent and resist disease. We also develop an “acquired immune system” in the form of special disease-fighting cells that help us resist disease.
Figure 8 shows a J-shaped curve that illustrates the benefits of exercise to acquired immune function. Sedentary people have more risk than those who do moderate activity, but with very high and sustained vigorous activity, such as extended high performance training, immune system function actually decreases.

27. PA & Alzheimer's Disease
Factors relating to heart health also contribute to brain health.
Studies indicate that PA and challenging mental activities are especially important among the lifestyle factors involved in maintaining brain health and preventing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Recent evidence has shown that physical activity has an impact on alzheimer’s disease. The mental health benefits of physical activity have been known for some time but this shows powerful evidence that it protects against a condition generally thought to be due to other factors.

28. Physical Activity & Aging
Slows aging
Acquired aging (related to lifestyle)
Compression of morbidity
Time-dependent aging cannot be altered
Activity slows down the normal aging process. It does this by slowing down the rate of acquired aging (aging due to poor lifestyles). There is a natural time dependent aging process that cannot be altered.
Regular physical activity can compress illness into a shorter period of our life. An important national health goal is to increase the years of healthy life. Living longer is important, but being able to function effectively during all years of life is equally—if not more—important. Compression refers to shortening the total number of years that illnesses and disabilities occur. Compressing illness, also called compression of morbidity, means dramatically decreasing the years of illness. Healthy
lifestyles, including regular physical activity, have been shown to compress illness and increase years of effective functioning. 23

29. Activity Aging Cycle Decrease Physical Activity Gain Weight Physical
Lose Energy
Deterioration
This figure depicts the exercise-aging cycle
It shows how a lack of physical activity tends to speed up the aging process
The model can also relate to how people feel about exercise on a short term basis. The more out of shape someone is the less desirable exercise is and the more out of shape they become. Many people have good intentions and start exercising only to quit after a few weeks. Now, we will focus on why many people quit exercise programs and discuss how you can set up a program that will be with you for life.
Berger, and Hecht (1989). Exercise, Aging, and Psychological Well-Being: The mind-body question. In: A.C. Ostrow (Ed.) Aging and Motor Behavior. Indianapolis, Benchmark Press, pp
The supplemental slide on fitness trends shows hypothetical patterns of fitness across the lifespan. It can be used to demonstrate that older people that maintain activity patterns can have a higher fitness than younger people that do not.
Perceive
Self As Old 5

30. Physical Activity & Wellness
Good physical fitness:
helps you enjoy leisure
helps you work more effectively and efficiently
keeps body functioning effectively
is the basis for dynamic and creative activity
can help you function safely and meet emergencies

31. Summary
Regular physical activity and good fitness can promote good health, help prevent disease, and be a part of disease treatment.
Too many adults suffer from hypokinetic diseases.
Many factors that are under your control (lifestyles).