Earlier this month the CDC released a new report about how often Americans go walking. Sixty two percent of adults surveyed in 2010 said they walked ten minutes or more at least one time during the previous week. That is a significant jump from the fifty six percent surveyed in 2005.
However, this is not enough exercise to provide any health benefits. The CDC recommends two and a half hours each week of moderate or intense exercise (like Zumba or using your treadmill at a higher speed or incline) for at least ten minutes at a time. This could be thirty minutes a day, five days a week. If you decide to do a workout class that lasts about fifty minutes, then you need to attend a minimum of three classes each week.
Regular exercise is an important step in disease prevention and overall health improvement. People have been looking for a way to solve all health problems, but they don’t realize that exercise is part of the answer. “Physical activity really is the wonder drug to keep us healthy and happy,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. Exercise has been proven to benefit your health across the board: improve mental health and depression, prevent Hypertension and Heart Disease, improved metabolism, a stronger immune system, and many more ways.
There are even more benefits than the ones listed. What are some ways exercise has benefited your life? Share your stories in the comments section and inspire us all to more a little more to improve our lives.
