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Effects

Controls Blood pressure

Physical Fitness has proven to effect the body's blood pressure. This is because staying active and exercising regularly builds up a stronger heart. Our heart is the main organ in charge of our systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Engaging in a physical activity will create a rise in blood pressure, once the activity is stopped however, the individual’s blood pressure will return back to normal. The more physical activity that one engages in, the easier this process becomes, resulting in a more ‘fit’ individual. Through regular physical fitness, the heart does not have to work as hard to create a rise in blood pressure, which lowers the force on the arteries, and lowers the over all blood pressure.

Cancer Prevention

Centers for disease control and prevention provide lifestyle guidelines of maintaining a balanced diet and engaging in physical activity to reduce the risk of disease. The WCRF/ American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) published a list of recommendations that reflect the evidence they have found through consistency in fitness and dietary factors that directly relate to Cancer prevention.

The WCRF/AICR Recommendations include the following:

• "Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight
• Each week, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity
• Children should engage in at least one hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity each week
• Be physically active for at least thirty minutes every day
• Avoid sugar, limit the consumption of energy packed foods
• Balance your diet with a variety of vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, etc.
• Limit sodium intake, the consumption of red meats and the consumption of processed meats
• Limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day"

These recommendations are also widely supported by the American Cancer Society. The guidelines have been evaluated and individuals that have higher guideline adherence scores substantially reduce cancer risk as well as help towards control with a multitude of chronic health problems. Regular physical activity is a factor that helps reduce an individual’s blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels, two key components that correlate with heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes.The American Cancer Society encourages the public to "adopt a physically active lifestyle" by meeting the criteria in a variety of physical activities such as hiking, swimming, circuit training, resistance raining, lifting, etc. It is understood that cancer is not a disease that can be cured by physical fitness alone, however because it is a multifactorial disease, physical fitness is a controllable prevention. The large associations tied with being physically fit and reduced cancer risk are enough to provide a strategy to reduce cancer risk. The American Cancer Society assorts different levels of activity ranging from moderate to vigorous to clarify the recommended time spent on a physical activity. These classifications of physical activity consider the intentional exercise and basic activities done on a daily basis and give the public a greater understanding by what fitness levels suffice as future disease prevention.

Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Physical activity effects one’s blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood lipid levels, blood clotting factors and the strength of blood vessels. All factors that directly correlate to Cardiovascular Disease. It also improves the body’s use of insulin. People who are at risk for diabetes, Type 2 (insulin resistant) especially, benefit greatly from physical activity because it activates a better usage of insulin and protects the heart. Those who develop diabetes have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In a study where a sample of around ten thousand adults from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, physical activity and metabolic risk factors such as insulin resistance, inflammation, dyslipidemia were assessed. The study adjusted basic confounders with moderate/vigorous physical activity and the relation with CVD mortality. The results displayed physical activity being associated with a lower risk of CVD mortality that was independent of traditional metabolic risk factors. The American Heart Association recommendations include the same findings as provided in the WCRF/ AICR recommendations list for people who are healthy. In regards to people with lower blood pressure or cholesterol, the association recommends that these individuals aim for around forty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity around three or four times a week.

Menopause and Physical Fitness

The menopausal period in women can be associated with symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbance, alteration in mood, lowered libido, and musculoskeletal pain. Any of these symptoms could potentially lead to a lower quality of life. Physical fitness may have the ability to alleviate or even eliminate the effect of most of these, for some individuals.

Biological Mechanisms

Achieving resilience through physical fitness promotes a vast and complex range of health related benefits.Controlling one's weight and physical activity go hand in hand. Being physically fit regulates body weight, insulin resistance, sex hormones, inflammation, and a healthy immune system. Individuals who keep up physical fitness levels generally regulate their distribution of body fat and stray away from obesity. Abdominal fat, specifically visceral fat, is most directly affected by engaging in aerobic exercise. Sex steroid hormones, insulin, and an appropriate immune response are factors that mediate metabolism in relation to the abdominal fat. Therefore, physical fitness provides weight control through regulation of these bodily functions.

One major response system that is highly affiliated with overall physiological health is the main stress responsive systems. This system works through communication of the immune system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system that collaborate to defend against development of stress-related diseases by the regulation of inflammation and stress response. This effect of physical fitness is the reason behind a shift to a better over all mood. There is a buffer against stress that is provided through exercise that facilitates biological mechanisms such as greater insulin sensitivity and better efficiency in the stress responsive systems. It has been found that physically active individuals have higher ratings on their stress resilience as they show pro-inflammatory markers, lower cortisol levels, and lower sympathetic activity to provide for a healthy biological profile. The effects of regular exercise prove effective in treating and/ or preventing declinations in psychological and physical health.