The Benefits of Being Fit
Kaiser Permanente is a large supporter of the East Bay Regional Park District’s Trails Challenge program. Due to Kaiser Permanente’s generosity, this is the tenth year that Trails Challenge is free for participants. With this program, and many others, Kaiser Permanente believes everyone can bring health and wellness into their daily lives. Need a reason to get fit? Read on.
Enjoying regular physical activity can:
- give you more energy
- improve concentration and memory
- help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight
- boost your metabolism during and after exercise
- strengthen bones, muscles, and joints; tone muscles
- lessen depression and improve mood
- improve balance, flexibility, and posture
- reduce stress and anxiety
- help you sleep better
- lower blood pressure, raise "good" artery-clearing HDL cholesterol
- reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis
- protect against cancer of the colon, breast, and cervix
- help elderly people maintain independence and stay fully functioning
- lower death rates from all causes
Find this and more at www.kp.org. Visit the health and wellness pages, which include interactive fitness calculators and podcasts.
Source: Adapted with permission from the Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Handbook (also published under the title Mind & Body Health Handbook), David Sobel, MD, and Robert Ornstein, PhD, 1996
Reviewed by: Robert Sallis, MD, September 2008
Complete list of reviewers
©2007 Kaiser Permanente
