Exercise. We either love it or hate it. But what actually is it, and what are the effects of it on our health?
First, lets clarify what exercise and health actually are. Exercise can be defined as an ''activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness'', while health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".
From these definitions we can immediately see that there is a lot more to health than originally thought, with three key areas: physical, mental, and social health. Physical health concerns the well-being of the body, and the proper functioning of the organism of individuals, while mental health refers to emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Finally, social health is our ability to interact and form meaningful relationships with others. Now that we understand the key definitions of exercise and health, and explored the three key areas of health we can begin to investigate the effects of exercise on our health.
Lets start with looking at the physical benefits of exercise. Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%. In addition to this, being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
Along with these physical benefits, regular exercise can help reduce the risk of illnesses such as: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia, while also increasing the size of the hypothalamus (a structure deep in your brain which acts as your body's smart control coordinating centre), boosting self-esteem, and releasing chemicals which improve your mood. Exercise is also a great way to meet new people and is an excellent way to develop new relationships with the people around you. All of these are great examples of how regular exercise can benefit your mental and social health.
The graph below shows how the odds of reporting depressive symptoms are considerably lower in those who exercise regularly, compared to those who don't.
However, while exercise is amazing, there are barriers to accessing it. These include: lack of time, lack of energy, lack of motivation, and costs. But there are ways around these barriers which we will explore.
Having no time to exercise is a very common way of avoiding exercise, but spacing exercise out throughout the day can actually be a great way to overcome this. Waking up earlier and walking to work is an example of how you could squeeze exercise into your daily routine, even taking the stairs instead of using an elevator or escalator can have a huge impact over time.
A solution to having no energy or motivation is to plan ahead. You can schedule physical activity into your routine for specific times, this could be when you first wake up and have lots of energy. Joining a fitness club can motivate you massively as you follow the example of the people around you.
Exercise doesn't always have to have a cost associated with it. Things like walking, running, and HIIT workouts are all great examples of ways to exercise with little to no cost. Even walking the dog is classed as exercise. Spending money on exercise doesn't put you at an advantage to others as exercise can be accessed at any ability with no cost.
So, how much exercise should you do? Well, as a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. You should also try to reduce sitting time as much as possible as the more hours you sit each day, the higher your risk of metabolic problems.
Overall, exercise is a great way to meet new people, and make a positive impact on your health and wellbeing. It is fun and it is accessible to all. A great way to get into exercise is by following a programme such as 'Couch to 5k' or following beginner tutorials on YouTube. Remember, exercise is any activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.