Exercise and Health

Running Head: EXERCISE AND HEALTH

Exercise and Health

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Introduction

Exercise comprises anything that gets our bodies moving such as walking, dancing or even working (America Diabetes Association, n.d). An individual is said to be healthy when the person is in a state of complete physical, social and mental well being (British Medical Association, 2011). Physical activity plays an important role in prevention of most chronic illnesses, however most adults reports less exercise in their leisure time (Heyward, 2010). Basing on this background, the objective of this paper is to highlight the health benefits of exercise and at the same time drive out the fear that exercise is harmful.

Benefits of exercise

Cardiovascular diseases

Exercise helps in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These ailments are more common in low and middle income countries. These are disorders affecting heart and blood vessels. Examplles of cardiovascular ailments consists of hypertension, stroke and coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is caused by lack of supply of blood to the heart muscle. This results due to narrowing or constriction of blood vessels, as a result of deposition of lipids in the vessels and aging. Although it may be caused by othe factors lack of exercise is among these issues. People who live a sedentary live are at a great risk of having a cardiovascular disease. Hypertension is the constant rise in blood pressure. Regular exercises are known to reduce the risk of hypertension. Majority of strokes and heart attacks are caused by the elevation of total cholesterol level in the blood. Habitual physical activity positively increases the metabolism of lipids. This leads to decrease in the total cholesterol levels in the blood and hence reduced risk of hypertension (Heyward, 2010).

Cancer and aging

Globally cancer is among the most leading causes of death. Lack of exercise has been regarded as...