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Definition
The Surgeon General of the United States defines exercise as physical activity that involves planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movements in order to improve or maintain physical fitness. As an element of health, exercise involves both strength training of the muscles and cardiovascular fitness, with stretching activities for flexibility. Most research on physical activity for fitness stresses the intensity and regularity of exercise as key elements. Typical exercise activities include fast walking, running, cycling, swimming, or aerobics classes. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, in conjunction with the American Council on Sports Medicine, recommends that all adults perform 30 or more minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity for 5–7 days per week. The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health identifies inactivity as a major public health problem in the United States. They have recommended exercise regimens 5–7 days a week for people who are already active, and such leisure activities as gardening, walking, using stairs instead of an elevator, cleaning house and recreational pursuits etc., for people who are largely sedentary.
Purpose
One important purpose of exercise is speeding recovery from surgery. Nowhere is being fit as important as when a person is facing surgery or recovering from surgery. Regular exercise leads to important health advantages, including weight loss; greater cardiovascular efficiency; lower cholesterol levels; increased musculoskeletal strength and flexibility; and better functioning of the metabolic, endocrine and immune systems. These effects diminish with lack of exercise within two weeks if physical activity is substantially reduced; the fitness effects disappear altogether within two to eight months if physical activity is not resumed.
With regard to preparing for surgery, the effects of regular exercise on all body systems create optimal responses both to the surgical procedures itself and during the postoperative recovery period.
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Author Info: Nancy McKenzie PhD, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit, Gale Encyclopedia of Surgery, 2004 |
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