Benefits of Exercise for Weight Loss

Benefits of Exercise

People spend more than half of their lives sitting, and that's the waking half. The other half is usually spent performing activities that don't do anything good for the body. This trend has been growing in the new generation and people are failing to realize this. Studies based on observation are suggesting that inactivity as a habit can raise the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

One study in fact, was able to show that middle aged women who seldom moved, watched TV, and were habitually inactive gained more weight and had a higher risk of developing diabetes; the study followed 50,000 middle aged females for almost 6 years. Every two hours that women spend watching TV, they add the risk of gaining weight by 23%. Moreover, they increased their risk of getting diabetes by 14%. Also, it was found out that individuals who spent most of their times sitting had increased risk of obesity. Therefore, when planning out the day it would be beneficial if you put some physical activity in it, as with the passage of time, inactivity will turn into a habit which will only have adverse effects on you.

The case for exercise is thus very strong, and decade's worth of solid science confirms that adding just as much as half an hour worth of exercise daily can improve your lifestyle.

Exercise packs in a lot of benefits, not just weight loss, and these all can become potential motivators for you. Therefore, a comprehensive list of benefits followed by a detailed chapter wise outlook is given.

1. It lessens the chances of contracting heart disease which is the number 1 killer disease in the whole of the United States for both men and women. Exercising on a regular basis stops the accumulation of plaque by developing a fine line between different types of cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, and helps the arteries retain their resilience despite aging effects. Exercise also increases the number of blood vessels which feed the heart and thus prevent a heart attack. Moreover, it discourages clotting, inflammation, and arteries blocakage and lowers the chances of death from heart attack if you currently have it.
2. It prevents diabetes by shaving off excessive weight, boosting sensitivity to insulin, and lowering levels of blood sugar. When sensitivity to blood sugar is boosted, it results in less glucose being transported to cells, so if you have diabetes, the condition would get better.
3. Exercise lowers blood pressure which is a boon for many individuals. Long term high blood pressure or hypertension can double or even triple the chances of contracting heart disease, which paves the way for many other disease like aortic aneurysms, strokes, and kidney diseases.
4. Exercise also reduces the risk of developing cancers like colon and breast cancers; some studies even show it helps in preventing cancers of the uterine lining. It accomplishes this by helping you attain a healthy weight.
5. It helps make the bones strong. When bearing exercises like sprinting and walking or strength training is combined with vitamins like vitamin D, the result is bone protecting mechanisms which keeps diseases like osteoporosis away.
6. Exercise also protects the joints by easing up pain, fatigue, and swelling. It keeps the cartilage healthy and as the muscles start to develop, they lighten up the load on the joints.
7. By helping you control weight, it may reverse knee problems which would be the biggest bang for the buck. It is well known that every pound of weight lost reduces 4 pounds of weight over the knee.
8. Exercise also lifts one's mood by releasing hormones that relieve stress. Some studies have shown that individuals who exercise regularly are able to counter their depression levels as efficiently as some medications.
9. Exercise is known to add years to one's life. In the Framingham Heart Study, a moderate amount of activity increased a man's life by 1.3 years whereas it increased a women's life by 18 months. When the bar was raised much higher, men lived 3.7 years longer while women lived 3.5 years more.