Benefits & risks associated with Physical Activity
“All parts of the body if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed, and age slowly; but if unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth, and age quickly.”
Hippocrates
Hippocrates
Regular
physical activity has been regarded as an important component of a healthy
lifestyle and has been proven to increase longevity and the overall quality of
life. Regular exercise is regarded as an important component of disease
prevention and health enhancement. A large and growing body of clinical,
scientific and epidemiologic evidence supports the concept of “exercise and
longevity.”
Physical activity-
Defined as body movement that is
produced by the contraction of skeletal muscles and that substantially
increases the energy expenditure.
Exercise-
It is a type of physical activity which may be defined
as planned, structured and repetitive bodily movement performed to improve or maintain
one or more components of physical fitness.
Physical fitness-
It is a multidimensional concept
that has been defined as a set of attributes that people posses.
Components
of Physical fitness-
- · Skill related component
- · Health related component
- · Physiological component
Skill related component:
This includes agility, balance,
coordination, speed, power and reaction time & is associated mostly with
sport and motor skill performance.
Health related component:
Include cardiovascular endurance, muscle
strength & endurance, flexibility and body composition.
Physiological component:
It include metabolic fitness, morphological fitness, bone integrity.
Benefits of
regular exercise:
Several
researches has documented the health & fitness benefits associated with
physical activity and endurance exercise training, such as improved
physiologic, metabolic & psychologic parameters as well as decreased risk
of many chronic diseases and premature
mortality.
- Decreased heart rate and blood pressure at given sub-maximal intensity.
- Increased capillary density in skeletal muscle.
- Increased exercise threshold for the accumulation of lactate in blood.
- Increased exercise threshold for the onset of disease sign & symptoms.
Reduction in Coronary artery disease
risk factors-
- Decreased resting systolic/ diastolic pressure.
- Increased HDL cholesterol and decreased serum triglycerides.
- Reduced total body fat & intra-abdominal fat.
- Reduced insulin need, improved glucose tolerance.
Decreased morbidity & mortality-
Primary
prevention( intervention to prevent the initial occurrence):
- Higher activity and fitness levels are associated with lower death rates from coronary artery disease.
- Higher activity and fitness levels lowers the incidence rates for cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporotic fracture, cancer of the colon and breast etc.
Secondary
prevention( intervention after a cardiac event):
- Researches has shown that risk factors for cardiovascular diseases are reduced for post-myocardial infarction patients who participates in cardiac rehabilitation exercise training.
Other postulated benefits-
- Decreased anxiety and depression.
- Enhanced physical function & independent living in older persons.
- Enhanced feeling of well-being.
Risk
associated with exercise:
Regular exercise reduces the incidencs of several
health related risk factors and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Neverthless, vigerous physical exertion also acutely and transiently increases
the risk of sudden cardiac death and acute myocardial infarction.
It should be rememberd that exercise only provokes cardiovascular events in individual with pre-existing heart disease whether diagnosed or occult. Exercise does not provoke cardiac events in individual with normal cardiovasculae system.
The risk of exercise related cardiac
events in adults are considerably higher than in the younger subjects.
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