Download Exercise and the Human Body

Exercise and the Human Body
Submitted by
Dr Kenneth Walton, RPh, PharmD
MWPHGL Medical Department
Friendship Lodge No. 44
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and
wellness. From boosting your mood to improving your sex life, find out how exercise can improve your
life. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. It is performed for
various reasons, including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills,
weight loss or maintenance, and/or merely enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the
immune system and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular
disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. It may also help prevent depression, help to promote or maintain
positive self-esteem, improve mental health generally, and can enhance an individual's sex appeal or body
image, which has been found to be linked with higher levels of self-esteem. Health care providers often
call exercise the "miracle" or "wonder" drug alluding to the wide variety of proven benefits that it can
provide.
Classification
Physical exercises are generally grouped into three types, depending on the overall effect they have on the
human body:
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Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and causes your body to use
more oxygen than it would while resting. The goal of aerobic exercise is to increase cardiovascular
endurance (e.g. cycling, swimming, brisk walking, skipping rope, rowing, hiking, playing tennis,
continuous training, and long slow distance training).
Anaerobic exercise is also called strength or Resistance training and can firm, strengthen, and
tone your muscles, as well as improve bone strength, balance, and coordination (e.g. pushups,
lunges, and bicep curls using dumbbells).
Flexibility exercises stretch and lengthen your muscles (e.g. stretching help to improve joint
flexibility and keep muscles limber). The goal is to improve the range of motion which can reduce
the chance of injury.
Health Effects
Physical exercise is important for maintaining physical fitness and can contribute positively to
maintaining a healthy weight, building and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint
mobility, promoting physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune
system. Contracting muscles release multiple substances known as myokines (my-o-kines) which promote
the growth of new tissue, tissue repair, and multiple anti-inflammatory functions, which in turn reduce
the risk of developing various inflammatory diseases.
Exercise and the Human Body - Continued
Cardiovascular System
Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current
weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and decreases
unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your
risk of cardiovascular diseases. The beneficial effect of exercise on the cardiovascular system is well
documented. There is a direct relation between physical inactivity and cardiovascular mortality (deaths),
and physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease
especially with the middle-aged and elderly populations. Most beneficial effects of physical activity on
cardiovascular disease mortality can be attained through moderate-intensity activity (40% to 60% of
maximal oxygen uptake, depending on age). A person who modifies their behavior after a myocardial
infarction (heart attack) with regular exercise has improved rates of survival.
Drugs Effected by Exercise
Beta blockers are a type of cardiac medication prescribed after a heart attack or to treat abnormal heart
rhythms (arrhythmias) and other conditions. They slow down your heartbeat. They are prescribed under
several common brand names e.g. Inderal (propranolol), Lopressor (metoprolol), Tenormin (atenolol),
Sectral (acebutolol), Zebeta (bisoprolol) and Corgard (nadolol). Your blood pressure and heart rate are
similarly changed by exercise and beta blockers. It’s important to remember that your heart rate is being
slowed down so adjust accordingly.
Brain Function
Physical activity has been shown to be protect your nerves which has been shown to be beneficial in many
neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. Evidence suggests that it reduces the risk of developing
dementia.
Cancer
A systematic review evaluated 45 studies that examined the relationship between physical activity and
cancer survivorship. According to the study results "There was consistent evidence from 27 observational
studies that physical activity is associated with reduced rates with breast cancer and colon cancer
mortality (deaths)”.
Blood Glucose Control and Exercise
There are a few ways that exercise lowers blood glucose:
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Insulin sensitivity is increased, so your cells are better able to use any available insulin to take up
glucose during and after activity.
When your muscles contract during activity, it stimulates another mechanism that is completely
separate of insulin. This mechanism allows your cells to take up glucose and use it for energy
whether insulin is available or not.
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Exercise and the Human Body - Continued
It is very important to discuss with your healthcare provider(s) your interest in wanting to begin or enhance
your physical activity prior to the start of any exercise regimen so that you can obtain optimal results.
Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Manson JE, Rimm EB, Willett WC; Hu; Manson; Rimm; Willett (2000). "Primary
Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease in Women through Diet and Lifestyle". New England Journal of
Medicine 343 (1): 16–22.
Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz G, Liu S, Solomon CG, Willett WC; Manson; Stampfer;
Colditz; Liu; Solomon; Willett (2001). "Diet, lifestyle, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women".
The New England Journal of Medicine 345 (11): 790–797.
Submitted by
Dr Kenneth Walton, RPh, PharmD
MWPHGL Medical Department
Friendship Lodge No. 44
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