IMPROVED GENERAL FITNESS

If we have to give ONE benefit of regular exercise it would be - improvement in overall fitness. Appropriate exercise improves muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory endurance. This may sound like unnecessary medical jargon but all it means is that your sustained ability to spend energy is directly related to maximal levels of performance.

The point is that your average energy-expenditure requirement can be calculated, and a your maximal cardiorespiratory endurance determines how active a life-style you can sustain. People who attempt to lead more active lives than their fitness level will support become chronically fatigued whereas those with adequate fitness levels, are able to meet the physical demands of an active life relatively easily.

One of the most frequent observations made by those who have begun exercising is that they feel better, and medical research also documents an improvement in feelings of general well-being in more active people.

DECREASED RISK OF CHD (CORONARY HEART DISEASE)

CHD is the leading cause of death in the developed world. Heart attack; angina or chest pain are all due to CHD. The basic disease process that underlies coronary heart disease is atherosclerosis, characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol in the linings of the arteries. This results in a gradual narrowing of the arterial lumen and this narrowing gradually ultimately stops blood flow through these vessels, leading to heart attack.

The effect of exercise on coronary-heart-disease risk factors:
People who are overweight, smoke, have high blood pressure or show elevated blood levels of cholesterol/ triglycerides are much likely to suffer from CHD. Evidence suggests that regular exercise can lower a person's exposure to several of the risk factors.

Regular aerobic exercise improves the lipid profile in most people. Exercise also appears to lower blood pressure in some individuals with hypertension. The greatest benefit is probably for younger people (those less than 40 to 45 years of age) whose hypertension is of relatively recent onset.

Excess body weight is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Exercise habits are strongly related to body weight. One of the most consistent results seen with regular exercise is loss of body weight. Weight-loss programs that incorporate exercise as well as diet are more successful than those that rely on diet alone.

IMPACT ON OTHER CHRONIC AILMENTS

Control of type II Diabetes