Role of Regular Exercise in Post WTC World

[Guest guest]

Mel,

Here is a better version from article that may be of interest to readers. Happy

New Year to

you and ! Feel free to improvise. I love your thoughts! Wish I had your

level of

knowledge (genius).... you are! (but not a guru - smile!)

[Thank so much for those kind wishes and words. and I wish to convey to

you and all

members of the list a wonderful New Year filled with peace and many blessings.

Mel Siff]

Debbie Kiefiuk, M.Ed., C.S.C.S.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

USA

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IHRSA/LIFE FITNESS FYI - NOVEMBER 5, 2001

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE POSITIONS ROLE OF REGULAR EXERCISE IN POST WTC WORLD

The attached article, that appeared in Friday's Washington Post, is too

good not to share.

McCarthy

IHRSA

This message is brought to you by IHRSA and LIFE FITNESS in the interest of

reaching 100,000,000 health club members worldwide by the year 2010.

Foot Soldiers for Health

By Carol Krucoff and Krucoff

Special to The Washington Post

Friday, November 2, 2001; Page C08

We've opened our wallets and our veins, signed petitions and lighted candles,

adorned our bodies, vehicles and homes in red, white and blue. Yet as we

struggle to rise above terrorism's assault on our minds, bodies and spirits,

we continue to search for ways to strengthen our country and ourselves.

To this end, we offer a modest suggestion: Get moving. At a time when medical

costs and physical suffering related to our sedentary lifestyles have soared,

our nation would gain a major social and economic boost if more Americans

followed the U.S. surgeon general's prescription to accumulate 30 minutes of

moderate physical activity on most days of the week.

Granted, this will not eliminate terrorism. But getting Americans fit can

play a vital role in our homeland defense because it can profoundly improve

individual well-being, plus save our country billions of dollars in health

care costs. While terrorists strive to immobilize us through fear, movement

provides an effective, natural way to relieve stress, combat illness,

strengthen immunity and enhance our ability to handle the complex physical

and mental challenges of life.

Over the past decade, public health officials have increasingly warned that

our lack of movement is killing us -- physically and economically. In our

push-button, drive-through, remote-control culture, only one in four

Americans exercises regularly, and chronic diseases linked to inactivity have

skyrocketed. Obesity has doubled since 1980, with almost two-thirds of

Americans overweight or obese; Type 2 diabetes has increased ninefold since

1958; and heart disease is still the number one cause of death.

This " epidemic of inactivity " kills an estimated 250,000 people per year,

according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical

Association. If the more than 88 million inactive Americans started moving

regularly -- by taking a daily walk, for example -- health officials say we'd

save more than $76 billion per year in medical costs.

The simple act of adding some movement to our days can help prevent or

relieve a broad array of ailments including arthritis, depression, breast and

colon cancer, hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, asthma, carpal tunnel

syndrome and diabetes. No need to join a gym, take huge chunks of time or

even sweat to combat these disorders. Even small steps can yield dramatic

benefit -- raking leaves, climbing stairs, putting on some music and dancing.

Some say it's our patriotic duty to hit the malls and spend. We urge

Americans to lace up their walking shoes and save -- not just their money,

but their lives. Like the victory gardens our parents grew during World War

II, daily health walks can enhance both personal and societal fitness.

The common excuse of " no time " needs rethinking after our communal wake-up

call to what really matters in life. In a society where adults watch

television an average of four hours a day, do we really lack the time to go

for a walk with a friend, relative or pet? Instead of always watching sports,

can we get up and play them? Rather than sit on a bench watching our kids,

why not swing and climb, too?

One of the many perspective shifts surrounding our collective near-death

experience is a new focus on the quality of our days. In this light, it's

clear that the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits gained from

movement go much deeper than the self-absorbed pursuit of washboard abs and

thin thighs. Despite our cultural preoccupation with appearance, exercise is

not just about looking good -- it's about feeling good, oxygenating our

brains and other vital tissues, uniting mind and body and lifting our spirits

with the sheer joy of motion. Simply put, exercise is the best medicine money

can't buy.

Unfortunately, most adults approach movement with the same aversion they

express toward an awful-tasting medicine. Yet as children we didn't feel this

way. Kids typically view physical activities as exhilarating play. That's why

we encourage people to approach exercise with the excitement and pleasure we

knew in childhood, running outside on a beautiful day to play with friends.

Instead of a dreaded workout, exercise becomes a joyous play break that

nurtures body and soul and is a highlight of our day.

To make this happen, find a form of movement you enjoy. If exercise is fun,

it will get done. Any sport or activity can become a powerful moving

meditation capable of healing body and soul. Just let go of thinking how

you're going to look from the exercise you're doing, and go outside -- or

inside -- and play.

Consider this daily " recess " your patriotic duty: to improve your own health

so that you use fewer medical resources and have the physical and emotional

strength to help others sharing your journey on this planet. True fitness

isn't measured by the ripple of your abs or the diameter of your thighs, but

by the strength, flexibility and openness of that most important muscle --

the heart.

Carol Krucoff is a yoga instructor, karate black belt and certified personal

trainer. Krucoff, MD, is an associate professor of cardiology at

Duke University Medical Center. They are authors of " Healing Moves: How to

Cure, Relieve and Prevent Common Ailments With Exercise " (Harmony

Books/Random House, 2000).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27493-2001Nov1.html