Every January, gyms are crowded with people who have vowed to exercise more as one of their New Year’s resolutions. But come March, those crowds have often all but disappeared. People get busy and distracted, and when that happens, the gym is often the first thing to fall off the priority list.

This is a shame, because exercise is the one activity that has been proven time and again to make a difference. Daily exercise has been found to reduce the risk of a host of age-related chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and numerous cancers.

Now, another study has added to the pile of research supporting the benefits of exercise…

The more activity, the less disease

Researchers from the University of Iowa examined responses to a questionnaire from more than 7,000 patients at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center. The Exercise Vital Sign survey asked patients two questions that they answered on a tablet:

• “On average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous exercise (like a brisk walk)?” (0-7 days) 
• “On average, how many minutes do you engage in exercise at this level?”

The responses confirmed what many other studies have revealed: Those who reported the highest level of physical activity, meaning they exercised moderately to vigorously at least 150 minutes a week, were at lower risk of having 19 chronic conditions — including cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes.

By contrast, the findings suggest the least active patients — reporting little to no exercise per week — faced elevated disease risks!

Based on the results, the researchers recommend all patients be surveyed about their physical activity levels, and that healthcare systems provide information on health and wellness services for physically inactive patients who are most at risk.

“In our healthcare environment, there’s no easy pathway for a doctor to be reimbursed for helping patients become more physically active,” says Lucas Carr, a professor at the University of Iowa and the study’s corresponding author. “And so, for these patients, many of whom report insufficient activity, we need options to easily connect them with supportive services like exercise prescriptions and/or community health specialists.”

“This two-question survey typically takes fewer than 30 seconds for a patient to complete, so it doesn’t interfere with their visit,” he says. “But it can tell us a whole lot about that patient’s overall health.”

When comparing the results from patients completing the survey with more than 33,000 patients who weren’t offered the survey, the researchers found patients who took the survey were younger and in better health than the patient population who weren’t given the questionnaire.

“We believe this finding is a result of those patients who take the time to come in for annual wellness exams also are taking more time to engage in healthy behaviors, such as being physically active,” Carr says.

Ways to fit in exercise

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to keeping a regular exercise schedule is lack of time. A good way to overcome this obstacle is to build physical activity into your usual daily routine.

For instance, when you go to work or go shopping, try parking the car as far away from the door as possible so you’ll have a built-in walking opportunity. Or take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you have the chance.

Another great way to get started is with “activity snacks.” You can easily fit these into your daily schedule, and you don’t need special equipment or access to a gym. And it’s easy to increase the intensity of the exercises as you go along.

But remember, you get out of it what you put into it. Those who saw the biggest disease risk reduction in the study put in a minimum of 150 minutes a week. Getting physical 6 days a week for 25 minutes, and having one rest day, sounds like a great way to commit to that.

Source:

Study finds physical activity reduces chronic disease risk — EurekAlert!