Double Your Exercise to Maintain Weight

Daily Physical Activity Boosts Quality of Life for Women

Feb 13, 2009

Women who are past menopause and are currently inactive, can improve overall health and well being dramatically just by adding just 10 minutes of brisk walking daily.

Too many older women are completely sedentary. Sitting around causes the body to function poorly and causes more negative thinking. Now women who wants to feel better and improve her mood can achieve these worthy goals by becoming more active, according to researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. The simple truth, based on this new study, is that simply being active promotes quality of life, a better mood and supports independent living.

Interestingly, women who put some effort into their walking or stationary biking and go longer--say 60 minutes a day versus 20 minutes--get more bang for their effort. While most studies looking at the benefits of physical activity focus on one chronic disease at a time (i.e., heart disease, high blood pressure or cancer), this new research, Exercise Dose and Quality of LIfe, shows women that being active pays off by enhancing all health parameters, including blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and mood, leading to an improved quality of life. These positive results hold true even without weight loss.

The More You Exercise, the Better You Feel

Stepping up your physical activity makes basic tasks like playing with (grand)children, climbing stairs, and carrying groceries easier to accomplish. Even in social situations, women who exercise regularly enjoy themselves more.

As little as 3 hours of exercise a week —the minimum recommended by experts--provides marked increases in energy and vitality. These benefits are significant given the prospects of living longer.

“It's no longer about how long you live, it's how long you live well," says Dr. Timothy Church, one of the study investigators. This study fits nicely with the newly released activity guidelines issued by the American College of Sports Medicine. The revised recommendations reflect the need to increase exercise from a minimum of 150 minutes per week (roughly 30 minutes per day 5 times per week) of moderate-intensity activity for overweight and obese adults to improve health to 200 to 300 minutes weekly to support long-term weight control. The good news is, you can accrue the time in 10 minute increments or all at once--whatever works best for you.

Resistance Training is Equally Important for Health

In addition to walking, or stationary bike riding, which provide the necessary cardiovascular benefits, women who alternate their aerobic efforts with strength training are certain the benefit the most. Resistance training is needed to increase the strength of muscles and bones, and improves balance, coordination, and mobility. In addition, strength training can help reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic diseases, including arthritis.

Alternating between an activity like walking and resistance training is the best strategy to promote graceful aging. To get you started, Tufts University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed a program, Growing Stronger, that shows you the exercises you can do on your own to add strength exercises to your repertoire.

The copyright of the article Double Your Exercise to Maintain Weight in Fitness is owned by Jodi Godfrey. Permission to republish Double Your Exercise to Maintain Weight in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.