Benefits of Physical Fitness
Physical Fitness has many positive benefits for a person’s body. Exercise provides health benefits, increases strength and energy, enhances a person’s appearance, which helps with self-esteem and also relieves stress.
A major health benefit from exercising is reducing the risk of heart disease. Exercise will help increase the HDL (good cholesterol) to LDL (bad cholesterol) ratio. Estimates are that 96.8 million American adults (51 percent) have blood cholesterol values of 200 mg/dL and higher. About 37.7 million American adults (20 percent) have levels of 240 or above. By having physical activity, the efficiency of the heart and lungs is increased. As a person’s level of fitness increases blood pressure will decrease therefore lowering high blood pressure. Exercise also controls diabetes by increasing insulin efficiency. A person’s body is protected against osteoporosis when exercising because bone mass is increased. Studies done on the bone density of broken limbs have shown that in just 2 months, a bone can lose 5 percent of its mass. Astronauts have also shown similar loses when subjected to weightlessness. By exercising frequently, a person’s joints, tendons, and ligaments are more flexible promoting easy unrestricted movement. This will increase a person’s sense of balance and agility. Exercise also helps expedite the movement of the nutrients to the cells and the toxins from the cells improving digestion and elimination. The endurance and energy level a person’s body is also increased. Exercising increases a person’s life span by slowing aging process. Muscle tone in the body is improved and weight loss is controlled making a person look and feel better. This type of feeling really helps boost a person’s self-esteem and decreases depression. Physical activity relieves stress and tension from a person’s body by clearing the mind. Anxiety can also be released in exercises such as kickboxing, aerobics, or tae-bo.
Another benefit that most people don’t think of is the reduction in health care costs. The fitter a person is, the less chance of becoming ill. As many as 12 percent of the deaths in the US may be due to diseases associated with lack of regular physical activity. Steven Blair, chief of epidemiology at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, led a study of physical activity levels and mortality. He found that the greatest percentage decrease in the death rate occurred in moving from the lowest fit group to the next-lowest fit group.
Exercise is an easy and attainable way to lose weight. A study in Durham, North Carolina showed this. Overweight men and women aging from 40-65 were split into three groups. Group 1 had to do the equivalent of 20 miles of jogging per week at 65%-80% peak oxygen consumption. Group 2 had to do the equivalent of 12 miles of jogging per week at 65%-80% peak oxygen consumption. Group 3 had to do the equivalent of 12 miles of jogging per week at 40%-55% peak oxygen consumption. Of 302 subjects screened, 182 met criteria and were randomized and 120 completed the study. There was a significant (P<.05) dose-response relationship between amount of exercise and amount of weight loss and fat mass loss. The high-amount/vigorous-intensity group lost significantly more body mass (in mean [SD] kilograms) and fat mass (in mean [SD] kilograms) (-2.9 [2.8] and -4.8 [3.0], respectively) than the low-amount/moderate-intensity group (-0.9 [1.8] and -2.0 [2.6], respectively), the low-amount/vigorous-intensity group (-0.6 [2.0] and -2.5 [3.4], respectively), and the controls (+1.0 [2.1] and +0.4 [3.0], respectively). Both low-amount groups had significantly greater improvements than controls but were not different from each other. Compared with controls, all exercise groups significantly decreased abdominal, minimal waist, and hip circumference measurements (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14718319).
The denotative meaning of physical fitness is “the ability of the body to carry out daily physical activities without getting out of breath, sore, or overly tired” (Lesson 16). Physical fitness can be achieved by first devising a fitness program. In order to do so the resting heart rate (RHR) and target heart rate (THR) must first be determined.
It improves muscular endurance, it reduces body fat, and it increases our metabolism. Aerobic exercise also strengthens the heart and lungs, making them more efficient and durable, thus improving quantity of life and its quality. Aerobic exercise not only helps you to live a longer life but it helps you live an energetic life letting you live it to its fullest. Those benefits include general changes such as reduced cholesterol and blood pressure. Aerobic exercise reduces your risk of heart disease, vascular disease and diabetes. It can also help those trying to quit smoking by improving lung function and by relieving cravings. Other benefits that aerobics exercise brings along are that it reduces stress and fights depression as it lifts self-esteem and physical consciousness. Aerobic exercise also improves the strength of your ligaments, bones, and
Although most studies have shown that physical activity prevent morbidity and mortality independent of weight, the range of benefits vary for among various groups stratified according to age, sex, race and BMI. Also, different dose of physical ...
There are many benefits of exercise on the human body, not only physical, but mental. Research has proved that exercise can benefit your mental health and your ability to learn. Exercise has many positive effects on patients suffering from a mental health disorder, such as depression or anxiety. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain called serotonin, which is a mood booster. The chemical can combat depression and help alleviate some of the symptoms that come with it. Exercise is shown to alleviate 25 different medical conditions, whether through secondary or direct benefits, such as Alzheimer’s. People who exercise are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than ones who don’t because exercise releases chemicals in the brain that support the healthy growth of neurons. Exercise can also serve as a mental “buffer” against problems such as stress, which prevents further problems like depression. This creates a mental resistance to outside forces, which aid in day to day life. Exercise can also help in education. Studies show that schools with academic programs that lack physical education perform worse than ones that have a more robust system. Majority of research indicates that replacing some academic periods with physical education results in higher academic achievement for students and improved concentration and focus. Exercise is shown to increase circulation and blood flow to the brain which increases cognitive function and the efficiency of the brain, having a profound impact on the human body and its ability to function efficiently. Exercise also engages the prefrontal cortex and stimulates it, which is responsible for complex thought and problem solving. This is proven to increase creativity, concentration and test scores. Stu...
Steady amounts of exercise help manage the fat to muscle ratio of the body. Exercise attracts attention because of its ability to maintain a person’s weight. The simple act of walking burns calories, contributing to overall weight loss. For fitness fanatics, consistent, and more intense, exercise builds muscle. When muscles are not worked out they weaken, and the chances of injury elevates. However if muscles are overused, they become fatigued, and the risk of strains rise. Long term cardio exercise induces long term benefits. Studies have shown, with regular exercise, comes an increase in metabolism. Since exercise improves overall fitness, it helps boost the immune system. Nonetheless don’t overdo it, too much exercise without enough rest can promote colds. Keeping a consistent
Regular physical activity is an important part of effective weight loss and weight maintenance. It also can help prevent several diseases and improve your overall health. It does not matter what type of physical activity you perform--sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work, or work-related tasks--all are beneficial. Studies show that even the most inactive people can gain significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day. Based on these findings,
Many studies have come to the conclusion that individuals who participate in health and wellness routines as well as a regular exercise program have a relatively increased degree of energy, lower healthcare bills, much better quality of life along with less stress, as well as improved health. Staying in good physical shape and healthy calls for everyone, to be conscious of their health, to be aware of the key fitness and health components and to follow them.
Adding exercises into one’s daily routines can change their whole lifestyle. Many people look at exercise as being something just for people who want to lose weight or to become muscle bound, but there are a great deal of benefits that can be received from exercising regularly. Of course gaining muscle and losing fat are the two most popular reasons that usually attract people to the gym, but they make up a small part of the potential benefits that can be achieved with exercise. There are several ways in which I have benefited in my life from exercising regularly, besides just making me bigger and stronger. It has made me become more organized, helped me make better decisions, and motivated me to take on new challenges in life.
Exercise combats health conditions and diseases: Being active boosts good cholesterol which is HDL and decrease unhealthy triglycerides. Regular physical activity helps you prevent wide range of health diseases like heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, depression, and metabolic
I believe that physical activity will improve one's health in two aspects – the physical state of one's body, and the mental health of the individual, both of which are crucial in maintaining the well-being of a person, and taps onto other domains mentioned in the Healthy Lifestyle Index Report (such as BMI, sleep, stress and depression).
Most people know exercise is good for you, but they usually don’t know just how good it really is. Everyone receives many benefits from exercising no matter your age, sex or physical ability. Exercise can affect your body directly and indirectly. There are several ways exercise affects people: emotionally, internally, and physically.
Being physically fit can help deliver good health benefits that can't be received any other way. Going to the gym everyday and getting a good workout is a basic need and will help increase your stamina and help you remain in good health. A person who exercises regularly will get more out of every day. The many types of exercises help demonstrate many techniques of physical fitness that create good habits and your health and energy levels will be greater than ever before. Being physically fit is a lifestyle, and does a body good.
The benefit of physical fitness is to prevent obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle thru training and focusing on the body’s compositions. Physical fitness is the measure of the body’s ability to go full capacity. If one doesn’t exercise ones body doesn’t work at its full potential all the time. Exercise can lower the risk of having major problems with ones body and relieve stress.
Another thing exercise does to help your body is combats health conditions and diseases. Exercising, no matter what your current weight is, makes the HDL or High- Density Lipoprotein, which is the cholesterol in your body that is good, increase. Also the unhealthy triglycerides decrease when you exercise. These things help the blood run more smooth and in turn, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Exercise also helps reduce heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and many other diseases found in the body. (mayoclinic.com)