by Sabrina Peterson

Created on: February 23, 2007   Last Updated: March 16, 2007

So you're considering losing weight, improving your diet, and getting in shape. Sure it takes effort but it also takes money. We have all heard an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is definitely true when it comes to living a longer, healthier life.

I once I heard or read a statistic that it costs 75% more to treat health related illnesses or conditions that could have been easily avoided or fixed by eating better and exercising regularly. That's a huge disparity in numbers. (I really should go look that up) Basically, taking care of your health is relatively cheap.

*I did look for that information and couldn't find it but I will continue to look.

Information from a 25 year study at the Cooper Institute shows that fitness is a better predictor of mortality than fatness. Dr. Cooper, founder of the Cooper Institute, was the person who coined the term "aerobics" back in the early 70s. Dr. Cooper has also found that you can be a fat fit person since he is one himself.

What does that tell us? If we want to live longer we need to move more irregardless of the weight and fat loss that might or might not occur. Adding fitness to your life can be pretty painless if you consider the implications of being sedentary.

Moderately hard aerobic exercise for 30 minutes just 3 days a week (say a 6 or 7 on a scale from 1 to 10) can improve cardiovascular function, lung capacity, decrease risk of heart disease, increase life expectancy, lower weight, body fat and risk of diabetes, lower blood pressure, increase good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL), decrease risk of osteoporosis, improve immune system function, improve symptoms or instance of osteoarthritis, increase psychological well-being and self-esteem. And that's just a small list of the benefits!

Now think about and compare the cost of doctor visits, prescriptions, hospitalization, missed time at work, and general lower quality of life the choice is clear. Non-exercisers have twice the risk of developing heart disease than people who engage in aerobic exercise on a regular basis. In the long run, it's much less expensive both time-wise and cost-wise to just move 90 minutes per week, spending a minimum of 20 minutes in your target heart rate (60 -80% for most people). For weight loss the recommendation is at least 30 minutes 5 days a week. The benefits of exercise are cumulative. The more you make fitness a part of your life the healthier you will be in the long run.

Don't force yourself to do something you hate or else you will never do it no matter if it's the "in" thing to do. I personally hate exercise bikes and stair machines but I love to exercise on the elliptical machine. You are the only one who can figure out which activities you will incorporate into your life on a regular basis.

Be active, get healthy, eat right and live longer.

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