Regular Exercise Keeps Dementia and Other Diseases at Bay – 5

What is the point I’ve never been able to lose weight or give up smoking?

Ideally, to gain maximal health benefits, men should exercise, not smoke, eat a healthy diet and have a body mass index (BMI) of <>

The more of these healthy traits an individual has the less likely they are to develop a range of chronic disorders.

It is obviously desirable for an individual to give up smoking and maintain a healthy weight range, but if they can not, they will still gain health benefits from increasing their physical activity (3,34–36).

It is important to explain the health benefits of losing weight or giving up smoking, but if a patient can not, they should still be encouraged to be more physically active.

The above is an extract from a paper by Leslie Alford from the University of East Anglia on the impact of regular exercise on our physical and mental health. You can obtained the references by clicking on FULL TEXT.

Journal Reference:

L. Alford. What men should know about the impact of physical activity on their health. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2010; 64 (13): 1731