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When I travel around the world I am often asked the same simple question: Why should I exercise? Let me explain it this way: Now more than ever, an abundance of evidence suggests that exercise is a super pill that is guaranteed to give its users a higher quality of life, needn’t cost a penny, and doesn’t come in a capsule. I will turn to my academic side to share with you the benefits of exercise, a topic I’ve written about extensively during my professional career.

Simply put, exercise and regular physical activity are considered a primary strategy for preventing, delaying, or combating numerous diseases. Interestingly, the importance of exercise for improving health was recognized by Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek physician who wrote the following in the fifth century BC: “All parts of the body . . . if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed and age slowly; but if they are unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth, and age quickly.” This ancient wisdom was validated in 2012, when the journal Comprehensive Physiology published one of the most comprehensive scientific reviews on the benefits of exercise yet. This paper confirmed that regular physical activity and exercise are a primary prevention for thirty-five chronic diseases and health conditions. Some of the major health conditions that regular physical activity may combat include the following: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes (including prediabetes and gestational diabetes), obesity, metabolic syndrome (a group of risk factors including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy high triglyceride levels, and abdominal fat), peripheral artery disease, hypertension, stroke, congestive heart failure, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, bone fracture (and falls), rheumatoid arthritis, colon cancer, breast cancer, endometrial (uterus) cancer, accelerated aging, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, constipation, gallbladder diseases, deep vein thrombosis, cognitive dysfunction, and depression. Yes, exercise can battle all of these diseases. In a 2016 article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the authors declare that exercise is just good medicine. I totally agree. And yet, despite these wondrous health benefits, most people do not exercise. As a result, American society continues to face major health challenges. Let me continue this story.

Sitting Is the New Smoking Disease

The 2012 Comprehensive Physiology article highlighted the fact that 95% of adults in the United States do not meet the minimum guideline for physical activity, which, as explained earlier, is 150 minutes of somewhat hard exercise throughout the week. Why is it such a struggle for the majority of Americans to attain 30 minutes of somewhat hard physical activity at least 5 days per week? Some scientists explain that there has been a steep decline in physical activity during the last several decades due to our reliance on technology, including automobiles, computers, televisions, smartphones, tablets, and energy-saving devices. Our new technologies have advanced travel, communication, education, research, business, and medicine, but have also contributed to a massive spike in physical inactivity (what we scientists refer to as “sedentary behavior”). People in developed societies throughout the world are spending greater amounts of time in activities that not only limit physical activity, but also require prolonged sitting. Schools, homes, worksites, and public spaces are built in ways to minimize human movement and promote sitting. When it comes to health, many wellness professionals now claim excessive sitting is akin to the smoking disease of yesteryear for its long-term health consequences.

Life is motion; we are a species designed to regularly move. Movement is vital for health and optimal aging. Accordingly, inspiring you to move more is a major goal of this book, and my START MOVING NOW! program, which is based on articles I’ve written, will help you combat sedentary behavior. My goal for most people I work with is to move more during their waking day. The benefits of this kind of lifestyle change are plain—and supported by research. In fact, a June 2016 article in the journal Diabetes Care showed that people who break up their waking days with movement are likely to reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular complications. I encourage you to start moving more every day, and keep moving for the rest of your sure-to-be-vibrant life.

A New Fitness Team Is Forming

The medical community is now beginning to work closely with fitness professionals to help encourage people to get physically active. For its part, the American College of Sports Medicine has developed a new medical campaign promoting physical activity and exercise known as Exercise is Medicine (EIM). EIM is an international health initiative that encourages healthcare providers and primary care physicians to include physical activity when prescribing treatment plans for their patients. Many of these primary care physicians also refer their patients to credentialed exercise programs and certified exercise professionals. This collaboration between the medical community and fitness pros sends an invaluable message to everyone, regardless of their age: start moving, keep moving, and make exercise an essential part of your daily life. Remember, “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch.”