Appreciating The Benefits of Different Exercises and Appreciate Healthy Lifestyle Management Program
Appreciating The Benefits of Different Exercises and Appreciate Healthy Lifestyle Management Program
Appreciating The Benefits of Different Exercises and Appreciate Healthy Lifestyle Management Program
OCTOBER 2021
I. INTRODUCTION
II. BODY
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Physical activity is defined as any physiological movement involving skeletal muscles
that requires energy. Working, playing, doing housework, traveling, and partaking in
recreational activities are all examples of this. Such activities include lifting, carrying,
walking, cycling, climbing stairs, cleaning, shopping, dancing, and gardening. The metabolic
intensity of an activity is calculated using the Compendium of Physical Activities in contrast
to a resting state. Metabolic equivalents are used to classify sedentary behavior, light
intensity, moderate intensity, and strong intensity activities. Furthermore, important systems
such as the skeletal, muscular, metabolic, circulatory, digestive, and endocrine systems do not
develop and function properly unless they are stimulated by frequent physical activity.
Physical activity, as a result, has a prophylactic and therapeutic effect on a variety of diseases
and ailments, as well as improving quality of life in a variety of ways.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RECOMMENDATIONS
II.i BACKGROUND
Heart disease, cancer, respiratory sickness, and diabetes, which are the major causes
of poor health and premature mortality in Europe and around the world, are the focus of the
WHO's global action plan for the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases.
7 Physical inactivity has been identified as a common modifiable risk factor for chronic
diseases, including smoking, a poor diet, and alcohol misuse. Science must back up
suggestions, and the majority of research in this subject has focused on the amount and type
of physical activity needed to be healthy. This information was produced and thoroughly
examined by a number of health agencies. Overall, physical activity and health benefits have
a clear dosage response relationship: the more active you are in terms of frequency, intensity,
or duration of activity, the greater the health benefits. People of all ages, genders,
nationalities, and weights have been demonstrated to benefit from increased regular physical
activity.
Only extreme aerobic or endurance activity, such as running or fast swimming, was
found to be helpful to the heart, lungs, and blood vessels in early research on
cardiorespiratory health. When it was discovered that as little as 150 minutes of walking per
week can enhance heart and vascular health by lowering blood pressure, improving blood
lipid profiles, and lowering the risk of heart disease, these beliefs were questioned. This
conclusion has been backed up by further studies in both men and women. Type 2 diabetes
and impaired blood glucose levels were shown to be lower in those who engaged in regular,
moderate physical activity for about 150 minutes per week compared to those who did not. In
addition, shorter exercise sessions tend to be just as helpful as a single long activity session.
For musculoskeletal health, weight-bearing and weight-resistance exercise, such as weight
training, leaping, skipping, and using playground equipment, is essential. Musculoskeletal
fitness is connected to bone health, improved balance, functional independence, a lower risk
of falls and accidents in the elderly, more mobility, psychological well-being, and a better
overall quality of life. There was a dose-response relationship here as well, with increasing
health benefits linked to increased musculoskeletal activity.
The latest WHO (2010) recommendations for the recommended levels of physical
exercise for good health are comparable.
Adults
The recommended quantity of physical exercise has been demonstrated to benefit
adults of any age, gender, or ethnicity in terms of heart disease and diabetes prevention, as
well as enhanced musculoskeletal and psychological health. The chosen level is also
reasonable and achievable for the vast majority of people, with minimal danger of
musculoskeletal problems. It's the equivalent of 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a
week. It is also now recognized that doing the activity in bursts of 10 minutes or more is
advantageous rather than doing it constantly for 30 minutes. To put it another way, three 10-
minute sessions a day would enough. It is preferable to be active on a consistent basis, as this
conditions the body and gives regular stimulation to the bodily systems, rather than being
active on a sporadic basis, which is more likely to lead to exhaustion and injury.
Additional activities to maintain bone, joint, and muscular health, as well as
improving balance, are also recommended for older persons. This aims to help people live
more independently by reducing functional constraints, preventing falls, and encouraging
them to walk.
Children
Physical activity is especially important for school-aged children and teenagers
because it establishes the foundation for a healthy future and a happy life. Physically active
children have strong muscles and bones, as well as excellent cardiovascular fitness. Weight-
bearing physical activity is especially good for children and young adolescents because it
improves bone mass. The years running up to and throughout puberty see the greatest gains in
bone mass, with peak bone mass occurring near the conclusion of puberty. This helps to
prevent osteoporosis and bone thinning as people get older. Although the recommended level
of physical activity is higher for children, they show the same favorable dose response
relationship between physical exercise and health as adults.
Inactivity is clearly detrimental to one's health. Adults who do not get the prescribed
150 minutes of physical activity each week should gradually raise their levels of activity. The
good news is that even minor amounts of physical activity can have a significant influence on
your health, particularly if you go from being completely sedentary to 30 minutes of
movement per week. To avoid injury, gradually increase the amount of activity over a period
of weeks or even months. Begin with walking for 5 minutes each day, gradually rising to 10
minutes and increasing the speed.
II.iii COUNTRY DIFFERENCES
Most country-specific standards encourage the same basic volumes and types of
activity. However, there are some differences in the scope of the recommendations. In the
United Kingdom and Switzerland, for example, sedentary behavior such as sitting in front of
a TV or other screen is discouraged.
Modern technologies, people have been able to reduce the amount of physical effort
required to complete a variety of ordinary tasks at work and at home. Private car ownership
reduces the need for physical transit such as walking or cycling, while sedentary leisure
diversions, particularly among the young, have become increasingly enticing thanks to
television, computers, and electronic entertainment. However, the extent of the impact of
these changes on our physical activity levels has only recently been understood due to the
introduction of standardized ways of measuring physical activity and the inclusion of all
types of activities to assess how active people are, including occupational, household,
transportation, and recreational physical activity.
According to this more comprehensive set of data, low-income countries are the most
active, followed by middle-income countries, while high-income countries are the least
active, owing to increased occupational and transportation-related activity. Despite
encouraging improvements in voluntary, recreational physical activity in high-income
countries, this is not enough to offset the overall drop in incidental, everyday activity.
Physical activity levels are predicted to decline as middle- and low-income countries face
technological revolutions.
PA = Physical activity
According to country estimates, over a third of European people do not fulfill current
WHO public health criteria for physical exercise. 2,4 The 'Health Behavior in School-aged
Children' (HBSC) study (2009-2010), which looked at the social determinants of health and
well-being among young people, discovered that roughly four fifths of girls and two thirds of
boys in the European Union do not meet current targets of 60 minutes of moderate to
vigorous activity per day. 31 Girls were typically less active than boys, and 11-year Olds
were consistently more physically active than 15-year Olds, despite some variation between
countries.
These estimations, on the other hand, are based on self-reported surveys rather than
actual measurements (such as by accelerometer), and may be subject to under- or over-
reporting. Nonetheless, this provides us with a sense of the relative position among countries.
The link between physical activity and disease has been intensively researched since a
seminal study indicated that London Transport Authority bus drivers were more likely to
develop heart disease than their more active bus conductor colleagues. There is currently a
considerable amount of data that physical activity is important in disease prevention.
Premature death, heart disease and stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, breast
cancer, poor bone health, and depression are all linked to inactivity. Physical inactivity is
thought to be responsible for 6% of the global burden of illness from heart disease, 7% of
type 2 diabetes, and 10% of breast and colon cancers, according to a large-scale study.
Inactivity was estimated to have caused 5.3 million early deaths globally. According
to the authors, in Europe in 2008, 121,000 deaths from heart disease, 14,000 deaths from
breast cancer, and 24,000 deaths from colon cancer could have been averted if everyone had
been active enough to follow current WHO recommendations. The effects of inactivity on
various health issues have been studied separately from the impact on weight status and are
covered in this section.
According to current evidence, physical activity has the greatest impact for heart
health and circulation. Men who live an active lifestyle, for example, have a halved risk of
dying from or acquiring significant heart disease. The risk reduction for women is between
30 and 40%. There is a definite dose response association, with the biggest health advantages
coming from moving from sedentary to moderately active. The benefits of physical activity
and fitness extend to people who already have heart disease, and studies show that regular
exercise can help slow or stop the progression of the condition.
Improved blood circulation; increased lung capacity and, with it, an increased ability
to take in and use oxygen; improved response of blood vessels to dilate in response to
activity; and better blood vessel wall health, including less inflammation, are some of the
direct benefits of regular physical activity to the cardiovascular system.
Metabolic adaptations include changes in blood lipid profiles, specifically a rise in the
ratio of protective high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to low density lipoprotein (LDL), and an
increased use of fat as fuel. Physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by
reducing risk factors such as high blood pressure and abnormal lipid profiles in the blood.
T2D, once known as 'adult onset diabetes' because it often affects people over the age
of 40, is now impacting adolescents and teenagers, with obesity and inactivity on the rise.
According to research, physical activity improves blood glucose management and prevents or
delays the onset of T2D. In a research of nearly 6,000 guys, it was shown that for every 500
calories consumed weekly in leisure time physical activity, the risk of developing T2D was
reduced by 6%.
In a study including over 34,000 women, any degree of physical activity reduced the
risk of T2D when compared to being sedentary. According to data from 20 longitudinal
studies, moderate activities were associated with a decreased risk of T2D in those at high
risk. Obese persons, people with a family history of diabetes, and people with impaired
glucose tolerance are all at risk. The highest outcomes were shown with vigorous intensity
exercise, which may lower the occurrence of T2D in at-risk people by up to a third.
The majority of physical activity's benefits for decreasing T2D come from increased
insulin action, which leads to better blood glucose control in the short and long term. Physical
activity improves insulin sensitivity, or the ability of the liver, skeletal muscle, and fat cells to
respond to insulin. Insulin sensitivity and fasting glycemia were significantly improved in
older men who exercised for 16 weeks.
IV.iii CANCER
After heart disease, cancer is the second largest cause of mortality in Europe. Regular
physical activity, whether professional or leisure, has been related to a reduced cancer risk.
However, the evidence of a preventative benefit is strongest for colon and breast cancer.
Physically active men and women had a 30-40 percent reduced relative risk of colon cancer
and a 20-30 percent lower relative risk of breast cancer when compared to their sedentary
counterparts.
Improved immune system function, which allows the individual to fight the cancer;
and improved hormone balance, which reduces the chance of malignancies that use hormones
to grow and spread, such as breast cancer.
IV.iiii OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY
Obesity prevalence nearly doubled globally between 1980 and 2008, according to a
2011 study. Over half of the adult population is overweight, according to European Union
country estimates, with 23% of women and 20% of men being obese in 2008. In Europe,
childhood obesity has steadily increased over the same time span. In primary school students,
the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity ranges between 20 and 40%, with a
higher incidence in the south of Europe than in the north. New data on Swedish children, on
the other hand, reveals that there has been no further growth, meaning that schoolchildren's
BMI is stable.
The alarming rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Europe is partly
related to a decrease in daily physical activity. There is evidence that persons who are
physically active gain less weight as they age than those who are not. There is an inverse
dosage response relationship, which implies that persons who exercise the most are the least
likely to gain weight as they age, and vice versa. It has been suggested that in order to avoid
weight gain throughout one's life, more physical activity will be required.
Physical activity, when combined with calorie-restricted diets, not only aids weight
loss but also improves body composition, retaining metabolically active muscle while
boosting fat loss. There is compelling evidence that those who engage in regular physical
activity are more likely to maintain weight loss than those who rely simply on dietary
changes.
One of the most important benefits of physical activity for people living with obesity,
aside from weight loss or maintenance, is its impact on their disease risk profile. Physical
activity reduces their risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as metabolic predictors of
these diseases such high blood sugar and fat levels. This underlines the need of physical
activity, regardless of its weight-loss or obesity-related effects.
Physical activity has been demonstrated to improve mood and feelings of well-being,
which helps to lessen the symptoms of depression. Physical activity, even in little amounts,
can aid with stress reactivity and sleep quality.
Regular physical activity can help you increase your mental sharpness. It has been
discovered to aid young people in improving their academic performance and adults in
maintaining their thinking, learning, and judgment skills. Physical activity can improve
mental functioning in areas such as planning, short-term memory, and decision-making, as
well as prevent the onset of dementia in older people.
In some persons with severe weight management issues, physical activity may
become an obsession, as exercise is perceived as a more acceptable alternative to disordered
eating. The coping mechanisms for this habit are similar to those used to treat eating
disorders.
Other benefits of physical activity exist that are possibly overlooked. Cognitive
development, social and emotional benefits, as well as job performance and productivity, are
all included. Bailey et al. show how all of the benefits of being active interact, support, and
improve one another, resulting in a total that is larger than its parts. Physical activity, for
example, can increase life skills including determination, self-discipline, time management,
goal setting, emotional control, and decision making, all of which can effect long-term
success by impacting earning potential, social inclusion, and emotions of self-worth.
A lot of work has already been put in to promote physical activity. HEPA Europe, for
example, was founded by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, a non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) across the European
Union. As a healthy mode of sustainable transportation, HEPA Europe will encourage the
integration of physical activity promotion into municipal health and transportation policy.
In general, high-income countries' approaches tend to focus on individual behavioral
change (for example by monitoring individual progress). In low- and middle-income
countries, such as those in Latin America, the focus is on community-based initiatives, such
as free classes to encourage entire communities to exercise together. It appears that
population-level actions will be necessary to have a major impact on total physical activity
levels.
VI. SUMMARY
Physical inactivity has a major and growing cost on health, mental well-being, and the
economy, making increased physical activity a global public health priority. There is a dose-
response relationship between physical activity and the reduction in major non-
communicable disease risk: the more physically active you are, the higher the health benefits.
Current guidelines are based on the minimal minimum of activity needed to avoid the major
noncommunicable diseases, which is unlikely to affect musculoskeletal health. Additional
health advantages can be predicted in addition to these basic requirements. Despite the fact
that the majority of people believe the criteria are achievable, the vast majority of individuals
in Europe, with the exception of a small fraction of the population, do not adhere to them.
There is a clear need for change in order to achieve long-term gains in physical activity habit,
which requires increased awareness, education, governmental support, a favorable social and
urban environment, and multi-stakeholder interventions.
Reference
Physical Activity And Health | Eufic