Exercise Benefits
Christopher Flores
March 8, 2011
Mr. Haile
1301.155
Exercise for the Body You know exercise is good for you -- but do you know how good? At its most basic, exercise is any type of physical exertion we perform in an effort to improve our health, shape our bodies, and boost performance (Waehner, Web). Adults, men and women, and teens both benefit from exercise and physical activity in many different ways. Exercise should play a key role in everyone’s daily life, not only does it boost self esteem, it also improves mental health and helps prevent depression, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, and, as always, obesity. Most people agree that even though they may not look forward to doing a workout, they tend to feel better after there done. Finding activities that you enjoy and that become part of your daily routine is the key to a long and healthy life. Exercising helps prevent heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, decay of bones, known as osteoporosis, and obesity. According to the American Heart Association, more than 16 million Americans have heart disease (Penninger, Web). Heart disease occurs when the small vessels in the heart muscle, the coronaries, are not sufficiently supplied with blood, a condition typically caused by arteriosclerosis (Blech 64). Primary risk factors for heart disease include: high blood pressure, obesity, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Daily exercise, such as, walking, swimming, and running, has been known to lower blood pressure by keeping the arterial walls distensible and responsive to both diastolic and systolic blood pressure (Marieb and Hoehn 705). Type II diabetics respond well to exercise by becoming more sensitive to insulin- the hormone that lowers blood pressure. Exercise can also reduce “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood (the low-density lipoprotein [LDL] level), as well as total cholesterol, and can raise the “good” cholesterol (the high-density
March 8, 2011
Mr. Haile
1301.155
Exercise for the Body You know exercise is good for you -- but do you know how good? At its most basic, exercise is any type of physical exertion we perform in an effort to improve our health, shape our bodies, and boost performance (Waehner, Web). Adults, men and women, and teens both benefit from exercise and physical activity in many different ways. Exercise should play a key role in everyone’s daily life, not only does it boost self esteem, it also improves mental health and helps prevent depression, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, and, as always, obesity. Most people agree that even though they may not look forward to doing a workout, they tend to feel better after there done. Finding activities that you enjoy and that become part of your daily routine is the key to a long and healthy life. Exercising helps prevent heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, decay of bones, known as osteoporosis, and obesity. According to the American Heart Association, more than 16 million Americans have heart disease (Penninger, Web). Heart disease occurs when the small vessels in the heart muscle, the coronaries, are not sufficiently supplied with blood, a condition typically caused by arteriosclerosis (Blech 64). Primary risk factors for heart disease include: high blood pressure, obesity, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Daily exercise, such as, walking, swimming, and running, has been known to lower blood pressure by keeping the arterial walls distensible and responsive to both diastolic and systolic blood pressure (Marieb and Hoehn 705). Type II diabetics respond well to exercise by becoming more sensitive to insulin- the hormone that lowers blood pressure. Exercise can also reduce “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood (the low-density lipoprotein [LDL] level), as well as total cholesterol, and can raise the “good” cholesterol (the high-density