30 Minutes a Day

Moderate physical activity has been the norm through thousands of years. The human body has been genetically coded to fit this way of life.

The sedentary lifestyle of the last 50-100 years has been a kind of "biological experiment" which seems to result in negative consequences for the human health.

Man was made to move and has done so for thousands of years. However, everyday life in great parts of the world has become less physically demanding, at home as well as in the workplace.

On a global scale approx. half the adult population are believed to lead a mainly sedentary existence. This unfortunate development contributes to the World Health Organisation's estimate that by the year 2020, approx, 70 per cent of all illnesses will be caused by lifestyle factors.

Physical inactivity is counted among these factors due to the connection with modern health scourges such as obesity, diabetes mellitus and heart and vascular problems.

This means that a physically inactive person runs twice the risk of contracting heart disease compared to physically active people, and approx. 20 per cent of all heart attacks (coronary thromboses) could be prevented if the population became more physically active. We must therefore get used to considering physical inactivity as a risk factor, just like smoking, high cholesterol levels and hypertension. In other words, physical activity is a "medicine" we should all take advantage of - the healthy as well as the sick.

Why Exercise Is Good For Your Health
Physical activity has a wide range of beneficial effects on your health.
Muscles, tendons, bones and joints are strengthened. Your muscle mass is preserved and lessens the risk of fractures and developing osteoporosis. Your motor system is improved and your immune defence system strengthened. People who are fit, more rarely contract infectious diseases and often take less time recovering from them. Numerous studies show that both sleep quality and moods are improved. Moreover, physical activity seems to have an effect on the development of certain types of cancer, e.g. colon and breast cancer.

Although these facts in themselves are good enough reasons for increasing your physical activity level, the greatest advantages are connected with the heart and vascular system. A fit heart requires less effort to pump the blood around the body than an unfit heart. Physical activity also lowers the blood pressure and pulse, and has a positive influence on lipids, and therefore on the different types of cholesterol in the blood. The blood becomes "thinner" - the blood plates clot less easily and the risk of thrombosis, cardiac arrest and arterial sclerosis is significantly reduced. The body's sensitivity to insulin is increased, and regular physical activity therefore also decreases the risk of developing diabetes (Type 2, adult onset diabetes).

These biological benefits take effect after only a short period of increased activity level, but unfortunately they also wear off quickly if more than a few days lapse between each time the body is exercised.

It is impossible to "save up fitness", and there is no leaning back relaxing in the knowledge that you ran marathons in your youth or that you were very active during your last holidays. If you are to reap the fruits of physical activity, it is better to move a little every day than to have lengthy sessions a few times a week.

The Good News
Many people refrain from exercise because they think that only long periods of hard physical effort counts. This is one of the most common barriers to getting started. Lack of time and discomfort at becoming hot and sweaty are others. The good news is that it does not have to be hard in order to have an effect. On the contrary, a brisk walk is excellent exercise and almost as effective in the prevention of thrombosis as sports on an advanced level. Also you do not necessarily need to spend much time in order to achieve the desired health results; just 30 minutes a day is enough!

Globalsurance is an independent Worldwide Health Insurance Advisor. We work with all the major insurance company and can give you independent advice or a range of free International Health Insurance Quotes; click for Free Advice and Quotes.

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