Exercise Is Medicine

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The evidence supporting the overall health benefits of physical activity is overwhelming.

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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

Researchers who accept grants from the Coca-Cola Company call physical inactivity “the biggest public health problem of the 21st century.” Actually, physical inactivity ranks down at number 10 for risk factors for death in the United States, and number 11 for risk factors for disability. And globally, in terms of years of healthy life lost, inactivity doesn’t even break into the top 20. As we’ve learned, diet is our greatest killer, followed by smoking.

A media analysis found hundreds of news articles claiming that prolonged daily sitting is as bad or even worse than smoking. This is decidedly not the case. Smoking is expected to cause a billion deaths this century. Tobacco is responsible for approximately 10 times greater mortality risk, comparing the heaviest smokers versus the heaviest sitters.

What role does physical activity play in longevity? In terms of combatting the hallmarks of aging, aerobic exercise can induce autophagy, lower inflammation, decrease DNA damage, and facilitate DNA repair. A meta-analysis of cohort studies of middle-aged and older individuals, with follow-ups as long as 20 years, found that exercising adults were more likely to age successfully than sedentary individuals.

Population studies have found a correlation between regular aerobic exercise and decreased risk of at least 35 different diseases. But what have interventional trials proven in terms of cause-and-effect? Randomized controlled trials of older adults have demonstrated that physical activity can improve muscle mass, strength, balance, and mobility, decrease the risk of falls and potential fractures, while helping to minimize bone loss. Exercise may also improve cognition, enhance mood, successfully treat depression (as well as the prescription of the antidepressant drug Zoloft), improve erectile function in men, and generally improve quality of life. The evidence supporting the overall health benefits of physical activity are overwhelming. Exercise is medicine.

Artery stiffness is recognized as a barometer of aging, supporting the 17th century axiom from the English Hippocrates that “man is as old as his arteries.” Normally, large arteries in the body expand and recoil with every heartbeat. (That’s the pulse you feel in your wrist.) This helps cushion the pressure waves to prevent damage to tiny sensitive blood vessels in organs like your brain and kidneys. Thankfully, not all age-related stiffening is inevitable. Endurance-training men and women have artery elasticity closer to that of younger sedentary individuals, a status that can be achieved after daily brisk walks or jogging for just three months. This may help explain why those who exercise appear to live so much longer. A single exercise session can improve insulin sensitivity for up to 17 hours. Exercise is such powerful medicine that researchers at Stanford and the London School found that exercise may work as well as drugs for patients with coronary heart disease, heart failure, and pre-diabetes, and even better than some medications for stroke.

They suggested that drug companies should perhaps be required to compare any new chronic disease drugs head-to-head against exercise, as patients deserve to understand the relative impact that physical activity might have on their condition.

Exercise has been described as the “only intervention that has shown a remarkable efficacy for … increasing mean and maximum lifespan in humans.” But is that true? Can we exercise power over our lifespan? Is it really survival of the fittest? That’s exactly what I’ll explore next.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

Researchers who accept grants from the Coca-Cola Company call physical inactivity “the biggest public health problem of the 21st century.” Actually, physical inactivity ranks down at number 10 for risk factors for death in the United States, and number 11 for risk factors for disability. And globally, in terms of years of healthy life lost, inactivity doesn’t even break into the top 20. As we’ve learned, diet is our greatest killer, followed by smoking.

A media analysis found hundreds of news articles claiming that prolonged daily sitting is as bad or even worse than smoking. This is decidedly not the case. Smoking is expected to cause a billion deaths this century. Tobacco is responsible for approximately 10 times greater mortality risk, comparing the heaviest smokers versus the heaviest sitters.

What role does physical activity play in longevity? In terms of combatting the hallmarks of aging, aerobic exercise can induce autophagy, lower inflammation, decrease DNA damage, and facilitate DNA repair. A meta-analysis of cohort studies of middle-aged and older individuals, with follow-ups as long as 20 years, found that exercising adults were more likely to age successfully than sedentary individuals.

Population studies have found a correlation between regular aerobic exercise and decreased risk of at least 35 different diseases. But what have interventional trials proven in terms of cause-and-effect? Randomized controlled trials of older adults have demonstrated that physical activity can improve muscle mass, strength, balance, and mobility, decrease the risk of falls and potential fractures, while helping to minimize bone loss. Exercise may also improve cognition, enhance mood, successfully treat depression (as well as the prescription of the antidepressant drug Zoloft), improve erectile function in men, and generally improve quality of life. The evidence supporting the overall health benefits of physical activity are overwhelming. Exercise is medicine.

Artery stiffness is recognized as a barometer of aging, supporting the 17th century axiom from the English Hippocrates that “man is as old as his arteries.” Normally, large arteries in the body expand and recoil with every heartbeat. (That’s the pulse you feel in your wrist.) This helps cushion the pressure waves to prevent damage to tiny sensitive blood vessels in organs like your brain and kidneys. Thankfully, not all age-related stiffening is inevitable. Endurance-training men and women have artery elasticity closer to that of younger sedentary individuals, a status that can be achieved after daily brisk walks or jogging for just three months. This may help explain why those who exercise appear to live so much longer. A single exercise session can improve insulin sensitivity for up to 17 hours. Exercise is such powerful medicine that researchers at Stanford and the London School found that exercise may work as well as drugs for patients with coronary heart disease, heart failure, and pre-diabetes, and even better than some medications for stroke.

They suggested that drug companies should perhaps be required to compare any new chronic disease drugs head-to-head against exercise, as patients deserve to understand the relative impact that physical activity might have on their condition.

Exercise has been described as the “only intervention that has shown a remarkable efficacy for … increasing mean and maximum lifespan in humans.” But is that true? Can we exercise power over our lifespan? Is it really survival of the fittest? That’s exactly what I’ll explore next.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Doctor's Note

This is the second video in a four-part series. See How Many Steps Should We Get Every Day? if you missed the first one. Stay tuned for the mind-blowing Does Exercise Extend Your Lifespan or Just Your Healthspan?. And, finally, see How Much Exercise Is Too Much?. 

For more on exercise, check out:

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