Exercise cuts disease risk factors

The major causes of poor health and disability are preventable diseases that affect your organs such as the heart, lungs and kidney. These health problems are associated with risk factors, many of which are controllable.

While exercise will not make us immune to all diseases, it might delay the onset of some serious health problems. A lifestyle that includes exercise is important as primary prevention for many life-threatening health problems. Diseases associated with the heart are the leading cause of death and disability. Exercise has been effective in reducing heart-related risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, hardening of the arteries and coronary artery disease.

You can identify aspects of your lifestyle over which you can exert control and lower your probability of premature disease. Chronic diseases develop over a lifetime, so the sooner you start a programme of risk reduction, the better.

Exercise and cholesterol levels

For example, your cholesterol levels are important risk factors. Higher cholesterol levels increase our risk of premature disease. Exercise has a positive influence on cholesterol levels, especially when the exercising produces weight loss. Exercise increases the levels of good cholesterol in your body without adversely affecting your total cholesterol volume.

Exercise will help us to prevent obesity and diabetes and their related risk factors. Exercise counters the risk factors associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

Nutrition and exercise

A combination of good nutrition and exercise intervention is the best insurance against chronic diseases. Exercise provides a mechanism to relieve stress and improves many of the markers of distress. It is in your best interest to assess your health profile, risk factors and prioritise those factors that you can control. Establish a plan to change the risk factors and an exercise programme should be the foundation of this plan.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.