How good is jogging for a person? What have various studies shown? What diseases can be treated with a simple set of exercises that is accessible to everyone? The questions were answered by medical experts.
University of Thessaly (TEFAA) Professor Yiannis Theodorakis spoke to the Athens Macedonian News Agency about the value of exercise while conducting various studies, emphasizing that 300 minutes of exercise per week is ideal for treating 26 categories of disease! From depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia to dementia and even cancer. “The most systematic and extensive study on the value of running, he says, was published in 2019.”
“The results came from a series of studies in which 230,000 people recorded their attitudes towards running and their chances of dying from several categories of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Really, regular runners are 30% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 23% less likely to die from cancer than non-runners. Studies have shown that the health of those who run even once a week is much better than that of people who do not run at all. Surprisingly, a higher frequency of exercise is not necessarily associated with more impressive health benefits,” argues Yiannis Theodorakis, adding, “I must emphasize that the World Health Organization tells us that adults should play sports – not necessarily jogging – no less 150 minutes per week at low to moderate intensity. 300 minutes of exercise per week is ideal. And children and teenagers should study for 60 minutes a day and all days of the week.
How useful all this is, the expert answers through relevant research: “Another interesting paper from 2015 states that 150 minutes of exercise per week should be recommended as a remedy – in addition to therapeutic treatment – in 26 categories of diseases. For depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, obesity, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, asthma, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. The same positions are formulated in other works, more devoted to mental health problems. They also documented that exercise is associated with increased lifespan. Yes, people who exercise regularly live better and longer by about 3 years.”
In an interview with APE-MPE, Mr. Theodorakis speaks of “small steps” as a big “shield”, emphasizing: “Inactivity negatively affects the health, mental well-being and quality of life of people of all ages.”
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