Do you exercise frequently?

If you don’t, you may want to consider making exercise a regular part of your day. Exercise has many benefits, which you should take into consideration before you cut exercise out of your life completely.

Let’s Move! is a government initiative focused on the issue of childhood health and obesity.  The organization released a report showing that being physically active can prevent a range of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and stroke, three of the  leading causes of death. According to Let’s Move!, “physical activity helps control weight, builds lean muscle, reduces fat,  promotes strong bone, muscle and joint development, and decreases the risk of obesity.”

Other benefits of exercise include:

• A  fourteen percent lower mortality risk by exercising for at least  fifteen minutes a day compared to people who do not exercise at all.
• Depressed people’s symptoms can be alleviated by as much as 47 percent with regular aerobic exercise.
• Three times as many college graduates as high-school dropouts exercise regularly.
• As a teen who exercises, you are 36 percent less likely to develop brain tumors than teens who don’t.

Junior Meagan Ford, who exercises on a regular basis, states that she exercises because “it is a great stress reliever and it is a fun thing to do in my spare time.”

Junior Oliver Lloyd agrees with Ford’s views and states that he “exercises to stay in shape, and to release [his] emotions when he has a stressful day.” In addition,  Lloyd says that running keeps him a positive person and keeps him mentally strong because he is challenging himself to do better.

As a nation, the U.S. is becoming less active and less healthy.

According to Let’s Move!, “over the past three years, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled; one- in- three children in America are overweight or obese,  and portions sizes are now two- to- five times bigger than they were in years past.”   Compared to forty years ago, the U.S., in total, now consumes 31 percent more calories, 56 percent more fats and oils, and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners in foods.

Another key factor in what has become an unhealthier nation is access to entertainment media and technology.  A 2012 report by Common Sense Media states that eight- to- 18- year- old adolescents spend an average of 7.5 hours using entertainment media, such as TV, cell phones, and computers.  While the report primarily focuses on the impact that this time spent with media has on students’ educational success, it also reveals the lack of time spent on physical activity.

Math teacher Mrs. McGrath, who has a son who is 4 ½  and a daughter who is 2 ½, admits that while her children are not yet old enough to really be influenced by media and technology, she does feel that “ in general, yes, young people primarily focus on entertainment media instead of spending time exercising or playing outside.”

It is hard for students to make time for exercise because they have many other priorities, such as homework, that come before it.  However, exercise can reduce stressful symptoms one may feel as a student including anxiety and depression,  plus it contributes to restful sleep. According to the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, “during exercise, the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, can increase feelings of happiness.”

Cedric Bryant, Chief Exercise Physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, likewise recognizes the benefits of exercise.  “Exercise produces a relaxation response that serves as a positive distraction,” says Bryant, who also says that exercise “helps elevate your mood and keep depression at bay.”  Exercise is not only a positive distraction but also reduces all types of anxiety in both men and women.

So, if you’ve been thinking about exercise but can’t seem to motivate yourself, it’s time to get up from your couch and exercise because the influence it can have on your life is nothing but positive.