Exercise and Physical Activity

Abstract

The association between physical activity and health was recognized as early as the fifth century BC by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who wrote the following: “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.” With the decline of the Hellenic civilization, this concept faded. For centuries, physical activity and fitness were considered largely for military purposes and associated with youth sports and athletics even through the post–World War II era. The landmark work by Morris and coworkers1 changed modern views of the relationship between physical activity, fitness, and health and inspired a new era in which the association between physical activity and human health, disease, and mortality was scrutinized scientifically. For more than half a century, a plethora of evidence has accumulated from large, long-term epidemiological studies that support a strong, inverse, and independent association between physical activity, health, and cardiovascular and overall mortality in apparently healthy individuals2,–,23 and in patients with documented cardiovascular disease.8 The exercise-related health benefits are related in part to favorable modulations in both the traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors that have been observed with increased physical activity patterns or structured exercise programs.10 In this review, we present a synopsis of some of the most influential studies examining the association between physical activity, fitness, and health. The studies cited represent only a small number of the many studies available, and more in-depth reviews are available on each of the topics discussed in the present review. In addition, the favorable effects of physical activity on the traditional and novel cardiovascular risk …