My friend, Dr. Allan Rowley, M.D., recently reviewed my website. One of his comments that really resonated with me was that “I was glad to see that you didn’t have the disclaimer “please consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program””. Instead, he thinks it should read “please consult with your physician before resuming a sedentary lifestyle”. Isn’t that the truth. By now, we all should know that being sedentary is one of the greatest (and controllable) risk factors for morbitiy and an earlier end to the quality of your life. Exercise needs to be part of your lifestyle, a healthy habit, along with a good diet. Everyone knows this, yet only about 25% of the population exercises regularly.
Exercise is such powerful medicine-what else can improve heart and lung function, bolster your immunity, improve muscle and bone strength, helps prevent diabetes and cancers of the colon, prostrate, uterine lining, and breast, decreases body fat, improve balance, increase self-image, etc., all without any side-effects. Of extreme importance to my geriatric clientele is that exercise helps to maintain their independence. If exercise were a pill, we all would take it. We have but one body to carry our souls through this ride called life, yet we treat it with hardly an afterthought. We take better care of our cars than we do ourselves, and we can buy several cars during our lifetime. Invest in your health-it pays great dividends.
Stay well, John R. Blilie, M.S.