WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER SEVEN Part 2: The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life

CHAPTER SEVEN:  The Path to Better Health and a Longer Life

          “The victim mindset dilutes the human potential.  By not accepting personal responsibility for our circumstances, we greatly reduce our power to change them.”

          - Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

 

 

          In the past, many American physicians did not consider obesity a medical problem and left its treatment to fad diet promoters.  Even now, medical insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, do not cover treatment for obesity.  Neither do the armed services, even though the condition can lead to a less than honorable discharge.  It seems that America’s medical community could do much more toward improving the nation’s health by promoting healthy lifestyles.  We need more public and private investments in sidewalks, paved trails, and public transportation.  We must start putting more emphasis on the benefits of physical exercise and healthy diet for avoiding many serious medical problems especially those that turn up in the elderly.  This is an age group that will be a larger proportion of our population in the future.

 

 

          “To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep the mind strong and clear.”

          - Buddha

 

 

          However, physicians can only do so much and it seems that the American public prefers easy prescriptions of drugs rather than proscriptions of harmful lifestyles even if many of those drugs have not yet proven to be of any real long term health benefit.  Presently, it appears that the American public is years away from accepting obesity as a severe health risk.  What all this adds up to is that human society’s failure to use the physical powers, acquired through untold thousands of years of adaptation to the earth’s challenging environments, is mainly responsible for present day widespread premature physical and mental degeneration.  You must remember and practice this old bit of wisdom, “use it or lose it.”  It seems that the people of the United States are losing their physical and mental heritage due to the lack of physical activity and healthy nutrition.

 

          “Oh, impossible,” said Lady Portmore; “It would kill any of the young men of the present day to attempt such a walk; it must be four miles at least, or two, or some immense distance.  No, I daresay, a cab is rather an extravagance; but I own I think it an absolute necessary.”

          - Emily Eden who lived from 1797 to 1869

 

 

          NOTE:  During the summer of 1999, the author saw two middle-aged women, about three city blocks apart from each other.  These two were so obese that young men were pushing them around in wheelchairs.  They were so obese that they made Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Antoine “Fats” Domino look like the anorexic duo.  Unfortunately, what I saw is far too common in the United States and becoming more frequent with every passing year.

 

 

          What are the major benefits of physical exercise?

 

1.  Boosts energy reserves:  Using energy helps keep a person fit.

2.  Boosts the Immune System:  Moderate exercise increases the disease‑fighting white blood cells.

3.  Reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by strengthening the heart and circulatory system.

4.  Relieves depression:  Exercise stimulates the release of mood‑enhancing chemicals in the brain and bloodstream.

5.  Improves Cholesterol Profile:  Exercise increases levels of “good” heart ‑protective HDL cholesterol and lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol levels.

6.  Controls Weight:  Exercise helps keep weight off or on.

7.  Relieves PMS:  Exercise helps balance hormones.

8.  Strengthens bone, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.  Regular exercise dynamically strengthens bones, while reducing the risk of this brittle bone condition caused by calcium loss, especially in old age.

9.  Relieves Insomnia:  Exercise is one of the best sleeping remedies.  A brisk half‑hour walk in the late afternoon paves the way for a good night’s sleep.

10. Physical exercise can help maintain balance and muscular strength in the elderly to avoid falls which are a serious threat to the health and functioning of older people.