The "Body" of Evidence

I'm learning, after 52 years, that verbal commitment doesn't guarantee productive action. I can say it, write it or memorize it, but until I DO IT, all the verbiage is worthless.

The Nutrition Action Health Letter December 2005 edition has an interesting article entitled "While You Wait:The Cost of Inactivity." An interesting quote by Miriam Nelson of Tufts University in Boston says, "If muscle isn't stimulated, your body senses that you don't need it. Metabolically, it's expensive to keep up so you start to lose it." Wow! That kinda puts a new spin on the need to get active.

Have you ever heard the argument, "It doesn't hurt anyone but me"? Well, that same mental game is often used to justify inactivity. Until I pledged to make physical activity a priority in my life, I rationalized that my couchitis was only hurting my muscle development. Now, however, I realize that inactivity affects every organ in my body in some way. Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis can be hastened by inactivity. In addition, researcher Steven Blair says, "People who are active are less likely to develop depression."

The research is voluminous. Physical activity is vital part of maintaining ones total health.

The Nutrition Action Health Letter provided the following as The Bottom Line

• To lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer, shoot for at least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity aerobic exercise like brisk walking, cycling, jogging or swimming.
• To keep off sustantial amounts of lost weight, shoot for 60 to 90 minutes a day of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.
• To build muscle and prevent bone loss, do strength training exercises at least twice a week using weights you can lift no less than 8--but no more than 15--times.

So much for the words. Now is the time to move forward.

Always make a difference!