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From Head to Heart: The Benefits of Exercise |
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Studies reveal regular physical activity antidote for depression, cardiovascular disease The great news: Research into the possible health benefits of regular physical activity invariably discovers that there are some, and recent findings have kept that glowing record going. From head to heart, and, obviously, well beyond, exercise seems an effective, multipurpose remedy for many of the ills that beset us. A study conducted by Dr. William J. Strawbridge and his colleagues at the Public Health Institute, in Berkeley, California, concluded that elderly individuals who remained active were less likely to be depressed or to become depressed. The researchers tracked 1,947 people, ages 50 to 95, over a period of five years, utilizing an eight-point scale to measure the amount of exercise they received. Each one-point increase, the investigators ascertained, reduced the risk of being depressed by 10%, and of becoming depressed by 17%. The improvements were clear even after adjustments were made for age, sex, ethnicity, financial strain, chronic conditions, disability, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol consumption, and social relations. “Regular physical activity, such as walking, exercising, swimming, or playing active sports, for older adults, will reduce the risk of subsequent depression,” Strawbridge told Reuters Health. “This benefit is similar for those with and without physical disabilities.” The researchers also noted that active individuals were less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, drinking to excess, or becoming obese. Another recent study, conducted by Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, of the Harvard Medical School, revealed that women who participated in at least two-and-a-half hours of either moderate or intense exercise per week were 30% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than their sedentary peers. There was no difference in results between individuals who worked out at modest or more vigorous levels, leading Manson to observe, “Women can truly ‘walk away’ from cardiovascular disease.” The study involved 73,743 women, ages 50 to 79, who were followed for a three-year period. An interesting, unanticipated, discovery was that prolonged sitting seemed to mitigate the benefits of exercise: women who spent more time sitting were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those who didn’t, even when exercise levels were the same. “Try to get up off the couch, or away from the desk,” Manson suggested. |
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