John Limpus

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Can Exercise Help Me Live Longer? (Part 1)

How Exercise Can Help You Avoid The Major Causes Of Premature Death In The UK…

“Modern day humans are dying because of a lack of Exercise…” Norwegian Epidemiologist, Gunnar Erikssen (Erikssen 2001)

Whilst death cannot be avoided, WHEN you die can be influenced by two key factors, namely your ability to prevent life threatening diseases (such as Cancer and Heart Disease) and the longevity of your physical body (just how long your body can continue functioning)

Whilst increasing longevity may be the more glamorous of the two factors (addressed in Part 2), by far the biggest factor in extending life expectancy is in avoiding diseases such as Cancer and Heart Disease. In fact, of the 2.2 million people that die in the US each year, nearly 1.8 million came as a result of “preventable diseases” such as these.

So how affective is exercise in helping reduce our likelihood of falling prey to the two biggest killers in the UK?

Exercise and Cancer Risk

One in Four people in the UK will die of Cancer

According to The National Cancer Institute there is convincing evidence linking increased physical activity with a reduction in the risk of cancers of the colon, breast, lung, prostate and uterus. In fact research done on colon cancer found that regular moderate physical activity could reduce the risk of colon cancer alone by between 30-40%, (these results were found regardless of the individuals BMI and the greatest results seem to appear with those who participated in more intense levels of exercise). The likelihood of experiencing breast cancer was even shown to have been reduced by as much as 80% as a result of regular exercise in some studies.

Allied to this many studies showed that the intensity and frequency of your exercise had a positive influence on reducing your risk of getting Cancer.

Exercise is thought to help against the development of cancer through it’s role in energy balance, hormonal metabolism, immune response and insulin regulation.

Exercise and Heart Disease

One in three people in the UK will die from Heart disease.

The University of Berkeley in California recently stated that sedentary people who started a program of exercise reduced their risk of having a heart attack by 35 to 55%.

So how does exercise reduce the risk of Heart Disease?

Opening the Blood Vessels.
Regular exercise increases the flexibility of blood vessels, a problem normally associated with the sedentary, especially in aging blood vessels. More flexible blood vessels are also more able to dilate, which can reduce blood pressure, another factor that affects the likelihood of heart disease.

Steadying the Heart Beat
Regular exercise, noted a 2008 article in the Journal of Applied Physiology, also appears to boost the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions such as breathing and heartbeat, helping to reduce irregularities in the heart’s rhythm that can result in sudden cardiac arrest. Physical activity also improves or negates other heart disease risk factors, including obesity and high cholesterol.

So what time of exercise should I be doing?

The research shows that the best type of exercise for reducing heart disease is cardiovascular exercise. Namely any exercise that will increase your pulse to between 50% – 85% of it’s maximum. This type of exercise produces far superior results than relatively sedentary exercise such as walking or gardening. (Although doctors do maintain that any exercise is better than none for heart health)

A 2008 study in the American Journal of Physiology — Regulatory, integrative and comparative Physiology reported that short intense bursts of aerobic activity three times a week offered the same cardiac benefits as longer endurance exercises 5 times a week. A good example of this are the interval sprints you will find on the UV Equipe Boot camps and later stages of the UV Complete Boot camp. So if you are short on time then be prepared to work a little harder in each session!

So there it is, whilst exercise isn’t the only key to the avoidance of Cancer and Heart Disease this article highlights a number of studies that show it’s effectiveness in reducing your risk CONSIDERABLY and as a consequence help us lead longer and more active lives!