How serious of a health problem is physical inactivity?
In the year 2008 physical inactivity, or lack of exercise, was responsible for the deaths of 5.3
million, almost ten percent of the total annual death from all around the world. As if that wasn't scary enough, today lack of physical activity kills as many people as smoking. And that's saying something.
The death caused by physical inactivity could be avoided if only people would take a total of 150 minutes or more of moderate exercise weekly, which calculates down to approximately 25-30 minutes a day. If you lead an active daily life, you may even don't have to exclusively spare some time to work out. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator in your office, for example. Read all about it in my previous entry how exercise can be made easy and enjoyable.
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| climbing stairs |
What diseases can be prevented with regular physical exercise?
The four major disease that are related to physical inactivity are coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, bowel cancer and breast
cancer. Around 6% of coronary heart disease cases are associated with physical inactivity. The number varies from 3.2% in southeast Asia to 7.8% in the eastern Mediterranean. Around 7% of type 2 diabetes cases (ranging from 3.9% to 9.6%), around 10% of breast cancer cases (5.6%-14.1%) and (5.7%-13.8%) colon cancer cases are linked to lack of exercise.
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| if you ever need a push to get out of bed... |
"Physical inactivity affects both your physical and mental health."
Not only that physical inactivity detrimental to your physical health, it also have a negative impact on your mental health. Researcher suggests that people who are physically inactive are twice more likely to suffer from depression. It also suggests that there is a connection between physical activity and the incidence
of Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. People who were physically active have 30-40% lower risk of developing dementia as they get older compared to people who were inactive. This
effect was seen in both women and men despite of their education and socioeconomic status.
So if you ever find yourself in need of a push to get you up in the
morning and do some exercise, remember that physical inactivity is a
serious health problem and you could actually die or contract dementia from it.
Other articles in exercise:
- A lot of seniors feel discouraged to do physical exercises because concerns about injury or falls. Sometimes a health condition such as heart disease and osteoarthritis can also prevent them from staying active. Read more about exercise for older adults and the elderly
- Even though they may not look like much of a calorie burner, these activities are just as effective as the more complicated exercises. Read more about this small list of easy exercises
- Obesity increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
diabetes, and interferes with a person's normal functioning and quality
of
life. Read more about obesity overview
