Exercise!

I am feeling great today and to be honest life is brilliant although I do miss my colleagues back in Leeds...


Sadly, I haven't managed to get to the gym since the beginning of December when I damaged my back. However, yesterday evening I started exercising again and it's true that it simply releases endorphins. We all know that the traditional benefits of exercise have been to improve and maintain physical fitness, as well as helping to prevent diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes but I find that exercise is also great for improving my mood. Dirk always used to tell me that exercise decreases your stress hormones such as cortisol and increases your endorphins which are the body’s natural feel good chemicals. As well endorphins, exercise also releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine and these chemicals work together to make you feel good even if you only exercise for a short period of time! I am reliably informed that just ten minutes of moderate exercise is enough to improve your mood, your energy levels and also stop you feeling depressed and lethargic.  Sadly, I am told that we should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day.


Strange places gyms and I constantly ask myself why so many people who are overweight or obese are there... you want to tell them that it isn't working!   In the latest Health Survey of England they predict that almost a quarter of the population will be obese this year. If current obesity growth rates continue experts believe that some 60 percent of men, 50 percent of women and 25 percent of children in Britain could be obese by 2050. I was reading on the National Audit Office (NAO) website that one million less obese people in the country would mean 15,000 less people with coronary heart disease, 34,000 less people developing type 2 diabetes, and 99,000 less people with high blood pressure.  Trouble is of course it isn't what you do in terms of exercise that matters most it's simply what you eat! We all need to follow a healthy, balanced, low fat diet and get plenty of exercise and while education is obviously key it is also important for parents and carers and teachers to set the right example to their children - as early as possible in their lives.
Chris