Pay Less for Health Care, Exercise

Carpinteria, CA – June 12, 2007 – The Office of the Surgeon General released its Report on Physical Activity and Health in 1996. Experts report that even 10 years later, it’s still as relevant as ever. The report brought together, for the first time, what had been learned about physical activity and health from decades of research, and today still serves as a source of recommendations made by such organizations as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and many other state and national health agencies. The report strongly supports the role of physical activity for good health and prevention of major health problems. Experts are continually discovering that health related issues ranging from childbirth to heart disease can be improved by the intervention of exercise. Study after study demonstrates that proper exercise, in addition to making us look and feel better, actually lengthens and improves the quality of our lives.

Unfortunately, even with the resounding benefits of physical activity and fitness being touted and reported, America is currently undergoing an obesity epidemic. One in four Americans remains inactive despite the evidence that exercise plays a key role in reducing one’s risk of medical problems and in decreasing health care costs.

According to the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), a distance education institution and personal trainer certification organization, the list of medical problems and health-related conditions that can be at least partially treated and controlled by exercise is extensive. The most significant of these exercise-treatable health concerns are anxiety, arthritis, back pain, cancer, cholesterol, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, memory problems, osteoporosis, and overweight problems. The technical support staff that assists students of the ISSA personal trainer education programs reveals five easy ways to improve your overall health through proper nutrition and exercise:

1. Drink lots of water – In 2002, Loma Linda University researchers found that drinking five or more 8-ounce glasses of water a day could help lower your risk of heart disease by up to 60 percent. Our bodies are made up of about 60% water and the average person loses approximately 2.5% of total body water per day – as the major “ingredient” of the human body, plenty of water is essential to your health. Just a 1% drop in water intake can severely dehydrate you, depleting your electrolyte levels (sodium and potassium) and limiting your performance in every aspect of your life. A 10% reduction of water in your body can make you sick and a loss of 20% can mean death. Also, your vital blood fluid is comprised of 90% water – dehydration could elevate risk factors such as blood viscosity (thickness of blood), making your body more susceptible to blood clotting and less efficient at delivering oxygen to your brain and muscles. 

2. Cut out fast food – Whether or not you’ve seen “Super Size Me” or read “Fast Food Nation,” by this point you know that fast food isn’t good for your body. It has too many chemicals, food additives, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, fried foods, and an overall lack of nutrition. Consuming fast food does little for your energy and has minimal, if any, nutritional value.

3. Eat 5-7 small meals per day – Eating small frequent meals throughout the day will control your blood sugar and insulin levels, decreasing the lows you may experience throughout the day. Also, eating sensibly, and often, will supply you with protein in small amounts throughout the day to support growth and recovery and provide your muscles and body with the appropriate nutrition you need to get you through your entire day. Most importantly, body fat will not be stored, but instead mobilized as an energy source. By providing your body with just the right number of calories, its need to store fat is reduced. On the other hand, when you eat infrequently, your body recognizes a “famine” situation and too much of the food you consume is stored as body fat in preparation for the “famine” to come.

4. Exercise every day – Everyone knows it even if they don’t want to admit it – you need to exercise in order to be healthy. But how often? And for how long? The U.S. Surgeon General and the CDC currently recommend 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, performed on most days of the week. This will result in basic physiological benefits such as lowered blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol. However, if your goal is weight loss, then you will need 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise, preferably daily, to effect a change in your body composition. A pound of fat equals 3500 calories. To lose 1 pound a week you need to expend 3500 more calories than you eat that week – this can be achieved through a combination of increased physical activity and reducing the number of calories consumed by following a nutritious eating plan. Make sure to warm up by stretching or running in place before you launch into your exercise session. At the end of each exercise session, most personal trainers recommend that you cool down for five to ten minutes through some light aerobic activity and stretching exercises. This will minimize or eliminate the muscle soreness that usually follows heavy exercise.

5. Lift weights 2-3 days a week –   Lifting weights is one of the best ways to increase your heart rate and get vigorous exercise. Not only does properly lifting weights strengthen your musculoskeletal system and help keep your bones together, but a strength training program is key in developing a sexy, strong, physically attractive body. Remember to keep moving around when resting between sets to aid circulation and help reduce swelling of muscular tissues, and schedule your strength training sessions a day apart in order to allow your body adequate recovery time.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors and sensible exercise not only prevent disease and untimely death, but improve the quality of one’s life. Physical activity is one of the secrets to healthy living and longevity. To ensure you are on the right track, it is suggested that you schedule a session with a certified personal trainer.

About ISSA

Since 1988 the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) has provided certification and continuing education to nearly 100,000 fitness professionals. ISSA certifications are recognized worldwide. From Sports Conditioning to Youth Fitness, ISSA offers 10 certification programs and dozens of continuing education courses. For more information on the ISSA, please visit: www.issaonline.com

To schedule an interview with a representative of ISSA, please contact:

Sabeen Sadiq
Director of Public Relations for the ISSA
Email: ssadiq@issaonline.com
Toll-free: 1-800-892-4772
International: (805) 745-8111

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