Importance of Physical Activities

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Physical Activity
Physical activity has many beneficial effects on aging. Generally, people who exercise regularly, or those who naturally include physical activity in their daily routine, feel better mentally and physically, improve their health profiles, and safeguard their functional independence as they go through the aging process (Edelman & Kudzma, 2022). Physical activity helps the functional mobility but it is also found to support positive outcomes for brain structure, function, and cognition (Joubert & Chainay, 2018). Physical activity can help improve the quality of life throughout the aging process.
Many do not realize that physical activity can actually help your immune system. This study came about during the HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic. A systematic review concluded that resistance exercise may improve body composition and increase muscle strength, aerobic exercise may improve body composition and increase aerobic capacity, and concurrent training may improve all outcomes evaluated in individuals with HIV (Gomes-Neto et al., 2013). It has also been beneficial for those with cancers. Women with higher levels of recreational physical activity after a breast cancer diagnosis have a lower risk of all-cause mortality (Spei et al., 2019).
Being physical active helps your mental health as well. It makes you feel better, have more energy, and have a more positive outlook on life. A recent cross-sectional study found that individuals who exercised had 43.2% fewer days of poor mental health in the past month compared to individuals who did not exercise (Chekroud et al., 2018). In aging adults, depression is very common. Many side effects of the anti-depressants are not worth the risk in taking. Physical activity can be just as effective as taking anti-depressants.
If physicians started prescribing physical activity instead of medications, we could possibly prevent many illnesses. When we prevent illnesses, such as cardiac, mental health, or pain, we could save the insurance money as well as keep the hospital readmission rates down. The value of exercise prescription would be great. However, only downfall would be the compliance rate. Many would think that it is easier to take a pill versus exercising.
References
Chekrould, S.R., Gueroguieva, R., Zheutlin, A.B., Paulus, M., Krumholz, H.M., & Krystal, J.H., et al. (2018).
Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1.2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9, 739-746. https://doi(dot)org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30227-X.
Edelman, C., & Kudzma, E. (2022). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span. St. Louis: Elsevier, Inc.
Gomes-Neto, M., Conceição, C.S., Oliveira Carvalho, V., & Brites, C. (2013). A systematic review of the effects of different types of therapeutic exercise on physiologic and functional measurements in patients with HIV/AIDS. Clinics (São Paulo, Brazil), 68(8), 1157–1167.
Joubert, C., & Chainay, H. (2018). Aging brain: the effect of combined cognitive and physical training on cognition as compared to cognitive and physical training alone - a systematic review. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13, 1267–1301.
Spei, M.E., Samoli, E., Bravi, F., La Vecchia, C., Bamia, C., & Benetou, V. ( (2019). Physical activity in breast cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis on overall and breast cancer survival. Breast, 44, 144–152. https://doi(dot)org/10.1016/j.breast.2019.02.001.