The following has been written by a guest writer. It is very interesting. Read on:
Heart disease has been the leading
cause of death in the United States since the 1970’s. Surely someone you know,
perhaps a relative has died from a heart attack. This serious and often preventable disease
continues to take the lives of over 2,000 people every day. Also people without
heart disease are expected to live more than 10 years longer than those who
have heart disease.
Shockingly, our generation is the first in the
history of the world, expected to NOT live longer than the previous generation.
This means we are projected to die before our parents! How can this be? Technology and medical
science are so well advanced.
The answer is surprisingly simple. The
biggest cause of heart disease is lack of exercise and over eating. I would
like to share with you today some thought provoking information.
Studies show that
nearly 32% of people do not exercise at all in any given week. This means they are only doing activities of
everyday living, like house cleaning, walking to the rest room, etc. Less than
20% of the US population reported that they exercise once or twice a
week. Currently, 50% of Americans report exercise at least 3 or more times a
week. The American Heart Association recommends that people should exercise at
least 3 times for 30 minutes per week. They also stress the importance of
raising your heart rate and breaking a sweat.
Heart disease varies by ethnicity. Caucasians have the highest percentages of deaths which is 25.1%. African Americans come in second with 24.4%. Asians or Pacific Islanders come in third with 23.2%. Hispanics come in fourth with 20.7%. American Indians or Alaska Native come in last with 17.9%.
Also, a whopping 65% of Americans are overweight which increase heart disease risk.
Heart disease varies by ethnicity. Caucasians have the highest percentages of deaths which is 25.1%. African Americans come in second with 24.4%. Asians or Pacific Islanders come in third with 23.2%. Hispanics come in fourth with 20.7%. American Indians or Alaska Native come in last with 17.9%.
Also, a whopping 65% of Americans are overweight which increase heart disease risk.
A typical American eats out at some
type of restaurant several times in a given week. Let me give you some examples.
A large hamburger such as a Big Mac, fries,
and a drink is well over 1,000 calories which is half of a regular intake of
calories in one meal! A typical meal should only contain about 500 calories so
the Big Mac meal is doubled what a normal meal should be.
We also have problems with portion
sizes. The food portions have grown dramatically. We eat larger portions
increasing our calorie intake
The calories you burn while sitting
is only 68, compared to burning 240 calories while walking and 250 calories
while biking. So you are burning more than four times the amount of calories
burned when compared to sitting. If you feel motivated pull out the Roller Blades because
you can burn more than 900 calories per hour. Whatever you do for exercise, it
needs to be it needs to be something you enjoy so you do it often. Burning calories is the key to weight loss! weight loss is the key to prevent heart disease.
In order to be successful, some
things you can do are exercise with a friend, schedule a time to do it, make a
goal, listen to music, and try different activities.
One huge benefit from exercise is
cholesterol reduction. Cholesterol is a type of blood fat that can be dangerous
to your health. When there is too much, it will clog and completely block off
blood vessels. If this happens in the heart it is known as a heart attack. If
it happens in the brain it is known as a stroke. If one of these things has happened
in your family, it will likely happen to you if you don’t exercise consistently
throughout your life.
This morning I ate a bowl of cereal
with milk. It was essentially 300 calories. I would need to walk for over an
hour to burn that amount of calories. Let’s return to the meal of a hamburger,
fries and soda. I would need to exercise at least 4 hours to burn that amount
of calories. So think of a person that eats a meal like that every day for
lunch. They are adding lots of calories and blood vessel clogging fat to their
body. Over the years this adds up and causes lifelong heart disease. So the
problem isn’t eating one meal of hamburger and fries every once in a while but
eating it daily combined with little to no exercise. Playing sports is a way to have fun
and burn calories at the same time. For example, if you played in a football
game you burned 526 calories. In a basketball game you would burn 598 calories.
And during a soccer game you would burn 821 calories. Also, if you go sledding
for 2 hours you could burn up to 749 calories.
Any sport can become a hobby that
will let you exercise in a fun way for the rest of your life. For example, I personally
love to play soccer. I have played it for the past 11 years. It is one of those
sports you can play lifelong from beginner to expert. It has all the attributes
to be successful such as playing with a friend, setting a time, setting a goal,
and it’s fun. I have soccer practice on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
for an hour to an hour and a half. Then I usually have games on Thursday and
Saturday for 90 minutes which means I exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week.
So as you can see, not only
exercising consistently throughout your life and eating healthy too can make a
big difference for your heart. It can ensure a high quality of life. Which
means you can do the activities you want and enjoy without restrictions. If you
choose to be sedentary, you will likely end up with a slow painful death.
