Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

 The era modern technology and development has made every work easy and there is no difficulty in procuring any information or service as everything is available on fingertips. But the same growth and development in technology has afflicted mankind adversely.

   The unfavorable impact of sedentary lifestyle on global population is noncommunicable and lifestyle disorders. This emergence of the burden of life style diseases owing to physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and habits is really a matter of concern and timely intervention is needed. The entire world population irrespective of their ages has succumbed to various types of lifestyle diseases. Those diseases, which were once a part of developed affluent countries are now affecting the global population altogether and it is renamed as non-communicable diseases.

     The term “non communicable diseases “includes a wide variety of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure[hypertension], high levels of bad cholesterol[dyslipidemia], gout, heart attack, stroke and many types of cancers [1].

How can we reduce the risk to non-communicable & lifestyle diseases?

Promote physical activity to reduce the impact of lifestyle diseases

 Among the accountable risk factors for these diseases, sedentary life style and physical inactivity have crucial roles. In order to overcome the risk posed to the health of a large group of people, it is recommended that people should include physical activity as a part of their life style. There are multiple ways to be involved in physical activities like swimming, walking, jogging, cycling and various exercise programmes and yoga. 

Benefits of physical activity

·       Improves brain health

         Being physically active can improve your brain health and cognitive function.

·       Prevents obesity

         It helps you manage the body weight and prevent fat accumulation

·       Reduce the risk of life style diseases

Physical activity reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases , heart attack, cancers, stroke ,neuronal degenerative disorders of brain

·       Enhances the strength of muscles and bones

       Regular physical activity strengthens bones and muscles, and improves your ability to do every day activities.

·       Improved thinking or cognition and reduced anxiety

  Those who sit less and do moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain lots of health benefits such as improved thinking or cognition and reduced anxiety.

 Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.

    Ways to be physically active

There are different ways to be physically active. You can try out different work out options.

Work your way up to 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, which could include dancing, walking, cycling or yard work. You could achieve the goal of 150 minutes a week with 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 

·       Reduce the sitting hours and take deliberate interest in moving about.

Make physical activity intentional or include it as a part of your routine ignoring the temptation of mind to sit idle or lazy.

·       Time allocation for exercise programmes

Set aside specific times to make physical activity part of your daily or weekly routine as some activity or exercise programmes.

·       Invite other members to be part of the exercise programme

Try activities with others in your household to eliminate boredom. It may help you for motivation and mutual encouragement to continue the work out. It is important to sustain the activity for better health and motivation and encouragement play crucial role in it. 

·       Begin your work out slowly and gradually increase the intensity

Start the work out slowly and gradually increase the time and intensity for more challenging activities.

·       Include physical activity while at your office adding to work routine

Add physical activity to your working day routine by taking a walk during your lunch break and taking the stairs whenever possible instead of choosing lift.

 How long should you work out a week? 

150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity can put you at a lower risk for heart diseases and stroke. You may be benefited in many ways as physical activity reduces many existing illnesses like type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. 

What benefit do you get immediately after work out? 

According to centre for disease control and prevention [CDC] physical activity provides immediate health benefits to brain and mental functions. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 years of age and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better[2].

 Benefits of physical activity in managing weight &metabolic syndrome: 

  Metabolic syndrome is a syndrome or a group of diseases comprising of obesity around the waist, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. Physical activity considerably reduces all these problems. Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more  such as strength trainings. 

How does physical activity help cancer?

 Studies show that adults who participate in greater amounts of physical activity have reduced risks of developing cancers of bladder, breast, colon endometrium ,esophagus ,kidney ,lung and stomach .

If you are a cancer survivor, getting regular physical activity not only helps give you a better quality of life, but also improves your physical fitness. 

How does physical activity help your muscles?

  Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength.

It is important to think about your muscle strength as you age over the years. Old age is associated with reduction in muscle mass and muscle strength as a consequence of aging. How can you improve muscle strength? Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities.

Does physical activity help to improve bone strength in old people?

 In old people physical activity lower the risk of hip fracture than that in inactive people. Physical activities such as aerobic exercises, muscle strengthening, and balance training are very beneficial.

Does physical activity improve brain health in old people?

 Physical activity such as aerobic exercises, balance trainings help in preventing neuronal degenerative disorders of brain including Alzheimer’s disease. 

How does physical activity benefit pregnant and post-partum women? 

Physical activity provides the following health benefits for pregnant women and foetus.

 a decrease in the risk of complications of pregnancy &delivery such as:

·       pre-eclampsia,

·       gestational hypertension,

·       gestational diabetes (for example 30% reduction in risk)

·       excessive gestational weight gain,

·       delivery complications

·       postpartum depression

Physical activity of pregnant women helps to reduce complications in newborn baby also,

and physical activity has no adverse effects on birthweight or increased risk of stillbirth.[1]

Summary of benefits of physical activity

Multiple types of physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a well organized programme. Physical activity also reduces pain and improves  body function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis and joint diseases in addition to all the benefits listed above. Regular physical activity may reduce your weight and the complications associated with obesity and thus helps to enhance longevity and quality of life. In a nut shell, 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. According to research by NIH, there is convincing evidence about the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression and osteoporosis and premature death[6].

References

1.      https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity

2.      https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm#:~:text=Being%20physically%20active%20can%20improve,activity%20gain%20some%20health%20benefits

3.      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8345633

4.      Text book of social & preventive medicine

5.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32825509

6.      Health benefits of physical activity: the evidenceDarren E.R. Warburton, Crystal Whitney Nicol, and Shannon S.D. Bredin CMAJ. 2006 Mar 14; 174(6): 801–809.

doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051351

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1402378/