Unless you are a complete invalid, you should be doing some type of physical activity. Another great reason: Exercise just as good as drugs in war on major disease.

Exercise could be as effective as some of the best drugs which protect against major diseases, research has found.

A study of more than 300 trials has found that physical activity was better than medication in helping patients recovering from strokes – and just as good as drugs in protecting against diabetes and in stopping heart disease worsening.

. . .

Researchers said the findings suggested that regular exercise could be “quite potent” in improving survival chances, but said that until more studies are done, patients should not stop taking their tablets without taking medical advice.

The landmark research compared the mortality rates of those prescribed medication for common serious health conditions, with those who were instead enrolled on exercise programmes.

. . .

The research found that while medication worked best for those who had suffered heart failure, in all the other groups of patients, exercise was at least as effective as the drugs which are normally prescribed.

People with heart disease who exercised but did not use commonly prescribed medications, including statins, and drugs given to reduce blood clots had the same risk of dying as patients taking the medication.

Similarly, people with borderline diabetes who exercised had the same survival chances as those taking the most commonly prescribed drugs.

. . .

They said there was a need for more research into the benefits of exercise for those suffering from serious health problems.

Researchers stressed that they were not suggesting that anyone should stop taking medications they had been prescribed, but suggested patients should think “long and hard” about their lifestyles, and talk to their doctors about incorporating more exercise into their daily routines.

Should this be surprising to us?  Why would we think that we could take some pills that would accomplish more than just using our bodies as God designed them?

Exercise is a broad term.  I always encourage people to do something — anything! — on a regular basis.  If you are one who doesn’t exercise at all, ask yourself if you’d be glad now if you had walked 20 minutes on a treadmill three times a week for the last year while watching TV or listening to the audio Bible or something.  If you do more, that’s great, but at least find some minimum level of activity.  You’ll be glad you did.  Forget about appearance and weight.  Just do it so you can feel better, have lower stress, have more energy, get sick less and ultimately be less of a burden on your family.