certain common chronic diseases. For example, regular physical activity has been proven to reduce the risk of premature death from heart disease by preventing its development. Regular daily exercise can make your heart stronger, improve blood flow through the arteries that lead to your heart, and lower the level of cholesterol in your blood. Exercise also lowers your risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and colon cancer, and helps to reduce blood pressure in people who have high blood pressure. Exercise helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints and prevents back pain by increasing your strength and flexibility and improving your posture. Physical activity also helps to decrease your percentage of body fat by preserving muscle mass. Exercise helps you lose weight and maintain your loss; this is another way exercise helps you stay healthy and live longer. It can help curb your appetite, and it burns a large number of calories. Regular exercise also helps you sleep better. The health benefits you gain from exercise are not only physical, they are also psychological. Exercise promotes your sense of well-being by diminishing feelings of depression and anxiety. A good workout also can help you better manage the stress in your life. When you stick to a regular exercise regimen you gain a sense of accomplishment that boosts your self-esteem. Also,
because physical activity helps you control your weight and look fit, you will feel better about the way you look. Regular exercise is extremely important for older men because it can increase the strength of muscles, bones, and joints significantly, which helps to prevent falls, a major cause of disability in older adults. Even if you have been inactive for some time, your strength will improve with exercise, especially strength-conditioning exercises (see next page). Maintaining or improving your strength and flexibility will help you to better perform daily tasks so you can continue to live on your own and maintain a high quality of life as you get older. While a small amount of exercise is better for you than none at all, the more you exercise, the more you will benefit. Once you start exercising regularly, your capacity for exercise will increase. That means that you will be able to exercise longer and more efficiently. If you have been inactive for some time, start with a 30-minute walk each evening before dinner and work gradually up to an hour or longer. If your doctor approves, gradually work your way up to a slow jog, and then a run. The more you work your heart muscle, the more efficiently it will pump, and the more health benefits you will gain—for both your body and your mind. Work with your doctor to find the best type of exercise regimen for your own personal health profile.
