On June 20, 2016, Aaron Carroll, a physician and regular contributor to the New York Times published an article titled Closest Thing to a Wonder Drug? Try Exercise. Distilled below are bullet points which show the value of exercise as a welcome addition to anybody’s routine.

It doesn’t take much, and Carroll says “The recommendations for exercise are 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity for adults, or about 30 minutes each weekday.”

Consistent exercise at a moderate rate has received the following acknowledgement from the scientific community as quoted by the article:

Musculoskeletal diseases

• 32 trials looked at the effect of exercise on pain and function of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee alone and exercise was shown to improve these outcomes
• Exercise therapy has been shown to increase aerobic capacity and muscle strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
• Other studies proved its benefits in other musculoskeletal conditions, like ankylosing spondylitis, and even some types of back pain

Cardiac Disease

• For people (mostly middle-aged men) who had a heart attack, exercise therapy reduced all causes of mortality by 27 percent and cardiac mortality by 31 percent

Diabetes

• People with diabetes who exercise have lower HbA1c values…low enough to probably reduce the risk of complications from the disease

Parkinson’s

• Multiple studies have found that exercise improves physical function and health-related quality of life in people who have Parkinson’s disease
• Studies have shown that exercise improves muscle power and mobility-related activities in people with multiple sclerosis

Diuretic Drugs vs. Exercise

• Diuretic drugs (but not all drugs) were shown to be superior to exercise in preventing death from heart failure. However, exercise was found to be equally good as drugs in preventing mortality from coronary heart disease
• Exercise was better than drugs in preventing death among patients from strokes

 

Note: We do not claim authorship of aforementioned claims. All rights and information stated belong to Aaron E. Carroll.

Carroll, A. E. (2016). Closest Thing to a Wonder Drug? Try Exercise. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/upshot/why-you-should-exercise-no-not-to-lose-weight.html?mwrsm=Email

06/22/2016