Here is why Exercise beats Diet for a Longer Life
The conventional wisdom has been that weight loss is critical to living longer, while exercise takes a back seat.
A new study discovered from previous data in studies that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical activity (PA) increased longevity.
The study also found that cardiometabolic risk improved with increased levels of both cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity.
In simple terms, you’re less likely to die from a cardiorespiratory-related condition if you exercise more than if you lost weight.
Here are a few reasons this could be true.
The Heart is a Muscle
The first reason this is happening is that the heart itself is a muscle.
Whenever you exercise, you improve the conditions of the heart.
A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows various benefits exist for the heart when anyone exercises.
Chief among these are lower blood pressure and higher levels of insulin sensitivity.
The study also goes further to show that exercise slows heart disease significantly.
By ordinary logic, the more you exercise a muscle (moderately), the stronger it becomes!
The heart itself never stops for the lifetime of an individual.
It keeps going and only rests a bit when you sleep.
Lifestyle choices are often the causes of heart issues.
The more you take care of your heart, the better things will be for the organ.
Exercise is one of those forms of care.
Weight Loss Alone isn’t the Key
Many sources place the weight loss industry in America to be worth as much as a whopping $78 billion.
That indicates how seriously Americans take weight loss.
However, weight loss alone does not equate to overall health.
You may gain weight and lose it, only to gain and lose it again. This type of pattern is known to mess up the human body, as the rapid loss and gain of weight is known to affect internal organs negatively.
The key is to maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI). It is keeping up healthy habits that maintain weight goals, like having the right diet and, yes, exercise.
The point is, if anyone can maintain a healthy weight and exercise, internal organs stabilize and don’t have to play catch up all the time.
We all know how the weight we try to lose always comes back one way or the other, regardless of whatever steps are taken to stay at the same weight.
Exercise helps to maintain health and give a healthy body mass index (BMI).
So, what should be the relationship between exercise and weight loss? You may ask.
The answer is below.
Physical Activity Helps Maintain Healthy Weight
A 2017 article by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had indicated that to maintain weight loss, a person must have several minutes (up to 80 minutes) of physical activity.
It shows that other methods, while important, aren’t as critical as exercise and physical activity.
Physical activity can be strenuous, but also can be rewarding as well.
The rewards far outweigh the stress a person goes through at every session of physical activity.
An article on the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website depicts further benefits of physical activity for everyone.
At the top of the list of benefits is the maintenance of a healthy weight.
When it comes to weight loss, many believe that everybody’s healthy weight is the same.
The truth is, a healthy weight is different for everybody.
Even among siblings, healthy weight differs because everyone’s body type is different.
The only consensus on healthy weight has to do with the Body Mass Index (BMI) range of between 18.5 to 24.9 for adults, as calculated by the US CDC.
Anything outside that can be a problem.
Dieting Should be Healthy
When many people think of a healthy diet, they immediately envision a “weight-loss” diet.
The truth is, it’s more about a “healthy diet” with the right combination of nutrients than about anything else.
However, that hasn’t stopped the zealous ones from promoting “weight loss” diets in the name of health.
It has led to many conditions that wouldn’t have been in the first place if the victims of such circumstances had consulted with professional nutritionists.
The national heart blood and lung institute of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), in an article, talks about having an “eating plan”.
This plan will enable you to gauge what you put into your body, why, and when.
The article talks about the various elements of an eating plan and what nutrients should be on the menu.
It gives further credence to the term” you are what you eat “. Most times, this is true.
Having an eating plan saves a lot of hassles that anyone will face later on in life.
Several diseases and conditions, (especially of internal organs people suffer from) have more to do with consumption than with other factors.
The US CDC article further advises people to reduce their calorie intake and increase the number of physical activities.
Biological Factors Have a Role to Play
For weight loss, there have been many motivational messages that pump prospects up just to make a sale.
Problems start to happen when weight loss programs don’t function as advertised.
Then the prospect becomes frustrated and drops the program to gain weight all over again.
And the cycle continues.
Most weight programs don’t work as advertised. The owners of such programs don’t consider the biological factors that determine how body mass index works.
Everyone has a unique set of biological factors that determine what size and weight you become.
One of those is genetics.
If you have people in your ancestry who were overweight, the chances that you will become featherweight are slim and vice versa.
When planning a weight regimen, don’t go for weight loss. Go for a healthy weight with biology in mind.
It works.
Putting it All Together
A holistic approach towards the various issues surrounding weight, exercise, and longevity is the best method of addressing this matter.
A balance has to be struck, between exercise, diet, and biology. These three determine how best you live and, in many cases, how long you live as well.
Study your body and get adequate help and advice from professionals.
There is no substitute for any of these.
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