A recent study examined exercise for longevity. We all know exercise is important, but just how important is it? Let's find out.
Sedentary behavior
“Epidemiological data increasingly demonstrate that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. Adding CRF to conventional risk assessment significantly enhances the accuracy of risk stratification for adverse outcomes.” How powerful is it that we can all engage in an activity that has more power to reduce our risk of disease related death than lowering our blood sugar levels or quitting smoking.
Exercise is NOT medicine.
I know, this sounds crazy but hear me out. Exercise is not medicine, it is more than that. There is no medication on the market that can prevent disease, manage disease, maintain disease, AND improve your physical capacity for every day life.
“No medications currently enhance fitness, functional capacity or alleviate frailty; thus physical exercise remains the most effective therapeutic intervention for disease prevention and management as well as maintaining functional abilities.”
To say exercise is medicine is a disservice to exercise.
The older you are, the more you benefit from exercise
“Clinical observations indicate that in older adults who have developed advanced frailty and multiple comorbidities resulting in mobility and functional impairment, it is often difficult or impossible to implement robust, moderate, or high-intensity aerobic exercise capable of improving fitness or disease pathophysiology. However, such individuals remain very capable of undertaking high-intensity exercise, even in the tenth decade of life. This shift in both feasibility and rationale highlights the urgent need for healthcare providers to recalibrate exercise recommendations, tailoring them to meet the specific capabilities and needs of the aging population.” This means that if your health care provider is not pushing you physically or encouraging you to engage in intense exercise, find one that will!
The bottom line is that exercise is powerful. More powerful than we give it credit for. It's time to start viewing exercise as a means to manage AND prevent disease. Exercise is more than medicine.
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