Becoming active is vital to attaining and maintaining optimal health!

It is one of those things that not everyone likes to do, but we all should be doing. America is home to the most obese people on the entire planet! Thanks to cars, more people taking desk jobs and spending time doing activities that promote a sedentary lifestyle our bodies have grown rounder than ever before. According to the Surgeon General in 2003, two out of every four Americans are either overweight or obese!

Did you know that when you are overweight your heart has to work harder than it would if you were a healthy weight, just to perform its basic functions? People who are overweight also are more likely to suffer from aches and pains from all the extra poundage their skeletal frame has to support.

Becoming active is vital to attaining and maintaining optimal health. You eat every day don't you? If so, you should be moving around every day too. Remember a little bit is always better than nothing. Shoot for a bare minimum of thirty minutes a day of moderate vigorous activity. Take a brisk stroll through the park or play a little basketball for the time it would take you to watch your favorite sitcom, including commercials. Thirty minutes is the bare minimum to aid you in having a healthy heart. If you really want to shed those pounds, you are going to need to move for 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

You do not need to do it all at once, but you need to start breaking a sweat four times a week. You owe it to your body. And remember, exercise does not give you free license to eat an entire bag of potato chips! You still need to be responsible for what you put in your mouth. Exercise is just an excellent tool in helping you reach your health goals.

When you work out the blood in your body can circulate more efficiently. Toxins are sweat out through your pores. Endorphins are released, uplifting your overall mood. Physical activity helps to fight against cholesterol, by raising the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) in the body and decreasing triglycerides. Exercise helps to provide oxygen levels to body tissue, which leads to a boost in energy! There is so many great things that exercise provides for us and it must be a part of your life if you are to achieve optimal health.

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