I rarely write about exercise, a topic that gets plenty of coverage elsewhere. However, thanks to a friend, I got some eye-opening information I’d not seen before. The information comes from Euan Ashley, who is a professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics and data science at Stanford, where he is the Chair of Genomics and Precision Health. (He helped establish the field of medical genomics.)
In a podcast interview with Derek Thompson, he states that “Exercise
is just the single most important intervention you can think of for your health.…you name the system in
your body and exercise improves it and makes your chance of disease in that system
less.” Here are the statistics he offers on the effect of exercise on a variety
of diseases:
- 60 percent less likely to have atrial fibrillation.
- 50 percent less likely to have diabetes.
- 70 percent less likely to fracture your hip.
- 50 percent less likely to have colon cancer.
- 25 percent less likely to have breast cancer.
- 25 percent less likely to get depression.
- 70 percent of people who are active in their daily lives report better sleep.
The data is based on a population of more than half a
million people who were followed for over ten years. In the interview he doesn’t
mention how much exercise or what kind. You have to figure that out for
yourself.
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