Healing Through Exercise: Scientifically Proven Ways to Prevent and Overcome Illness and Lengthen Your Life (27 page)

17
Suresh Rattan, “Anti-Ageing Strategies: Prevention or Therapy?”
Embo Reports
6 (2005): 25-28.

18
Wall Street Journal
(European edition), June 24, 2006.

19
Rod Dishman and others, “Neurobiology of Exercise,”
Obesity
14 (2006): 345-356.

20
Agathocles Tsatsoulis and Stelios Fountoulakis, “The Protective Role of Exercise on Stress System Dysregulation and Comorbidities,”
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
1083 (2006): 196-213.

21
Jessica Chubak and others, “Moderate-Intensity Exercise Reduces the Incidence of Colds Among Postmenopausal Women,”
The American Journal of Medicine
119 (2006): 937-942.

22
Eliza F. Chakravarty and others, “Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners,”
Archives of Internal Medicine
168.15 (2008): 1638-1646.

23
News release from Stanford University, August 20, 2008.

CHAPTER 14: PANACEA FOR EVERY DAY

1
David Bassett and others, “Physical Activity in an Old Order Amish Community,”
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
36 (2004): 79-85.

2
Aloys Berg and others, “Gewichtskontrolle ist nicht nur FdH,”
MMW—Fortschritte der Medizin
27-28 (2004): 636/27-30/639.

3
Maria Fiatarone Singh, “Essay: Fit for Life—A Geriatrician’s Perspective on Aging Well,”
The Lancet
366, suppl. 1 (2005): S51.

4
In yet another study Becca Levy has shown that older people who have negative stereotypes about the elderly have a greater chance of hearing decline. Levy and others, “Hearing Decline Predicted by Elders’ Stereotypes,”
The Journals of Gerontology, Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
61 (2006): 82-87; see also Gina Kolata, “Old but not Frail: A Matter of Heart and Head,”
New York Times
, October 5, 2006.

5
Rainer Hambrecht and others, “Percutaneous Coronary Angioplasty Compared with Exercise Training in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease: A Randomized Trial,”
Circulation
109 (2004): 1371-1378.

6
There are signs suggesting the meteoric rise of angioplasty during the past three decades has ended. Interestingly, this is not because doctors started to appreciate the therapeutic value of exercise. Rather, three recent studies published in the past two years indicate that using the procedure to open blocked arteries to treat chest pain, or angina, may be riskier and no more beneficial than medication. See Steve Sternberg, “Angioplasty’s Golden Era May be Fading,”
USA Today
, March 26, 2008.

7
Charles Mann, “Provocative Study Says Obesity May Reduce U.S. Life Expectancy,”
Science
, March 18, 2005: 1716.

8
Singh, S51.

9
News release of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, August 4, 2008;
www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/08/04/YMCA_exercise.html
.

10
www.exerciseismedicine.org
, accessed October 18, 2008.

11
www.exerciseismedicine.org/media.htm
, accessed October 18, 2008.

12
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/media/news-releases/news-releases-2008/8-february-2008/
, accessed October 18, 2008.

13
Ralf Sygusch and others, “Gesundheitssport—Effekte und deren Nachhaltigkeit bei unterschiedlichem Energieverbrauch,”
Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin
9 (2005): 318-326.

14
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have jointly published physical activity guidelines. For adults over age 65 (or adults 50-64 with chronic conditions, such as arthritis), the basic recommendations are: do moderately intense aerobic exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week; or do vigorously intense aerobic exercise 20 minutes a day, three days a week, and do 8 to 10 strength-training exercises, 10-15 repetitions of each exercise, twice to three times per week. The complete recommendations are at
www.acsm.org
.

15
Xuemei Sui and others, “Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity as Mortality Predictors in Older Adults,”
Journal of the American Medical Association
298 (2008): 2507-2516.

16
R. S. Pfaffenbarger and others, “Physical Activity and Physical Fitness as Determinants of Health and Longevity,” in
Exercise, Fitness and Health A Consensus of Current Knowledge
, ed. C. Bouchard, R. J. Shephard, and T. Stephens (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1990), 33-48.

17
Christian Roberts and James Barnard, “Effects of Exercise and Diet on Chronic disease,”
Journal of Applied Physiology
98 (2005): 3-30.

18
Der Spiegel
number 51 (2000).

19
www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/pa/en/
, accessed March 19, 2007.

20
Rainer Hambrecht and Stephan Gielen, “Essay: Hunter-Gatherer to Sedentary Lifestyle,”
The Lancet
366 (2005): S60-S61.

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have jointly published physical activity guidelines:
www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764
.

The National Institute on Aging (part of the U.S. Government’s National Institutes of Health) has created a comprehensive exercise program expressly with seniors in mind:
www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/Exercise Guide/
.

The Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health:
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/sgr.htm
.

I wish to thank Peter Dizikes, Barbara Perlmutter, and Kerstin Schuster for their help and support with this U.S. version of the book. I am particularly indebted to my editor, Merloyd Lawrence, for her suggestions and editing. I am fortunate to have met researchers and physicians who willingly shared their expertise with me: Aloys Berg, Fred Gage, Elkhonon Goldberg, Martin Halle, Christina Hahn, Rainer Hambrecht, Gertrude Huntington, Melinda Irwin, Carolyn Kaelin, Gerd Kempermann, Ulman Lindenberger, Herbert Löllgen, Jeffrey Macklis, Wilhelm Niebling, Fernando Nottebohm, Henriette van Praag, Hans-Georg Predel, Irwin Rosenberg, Robert Sallis, Eckard Schönau, Thorsten Schulz, Anna Schwartz, Heiko Strüder, Gertraud Teuchert-Noodt, Claudia Voelcker-Rehage, R. Sanders Williams, Andrea Zegelin, and Marc Ziegler.

My friend Jobst-Ulrich Brand, a journalist based in Munich, read the first version of the manuscript and provided me with valuable comments. Matthias Landwehr, my agent in Berlin, and Peter Sillem, my editor at S. Fischer in Frankfurt, encouraged me to go for this project. I am indebted to my colleagues at
Der Spiegel
magazine; Stefan Aust, Johann Grolle, and Olaf Stampf supported this project.

Most important, I wish to thank my wife and our children. They have guided me through this exciting endeavor.

Aarhus, University

Abramson, John

ACE-inhibitors

Addictive behavior (alcohol and drugs)

ADHD.
See
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Adipocytokines

Adult-onset diabetes.
See
Diabetes, type 2

Aerobic capacity

Aerobic exercise

Affective panic disorder

Afikim Electric Mobilizers

Ageism

Aging

aerobic capacity, decrease in

basal metabolic rate, decrease in

biological

body fat, increase in

compression of morbidity, health in later life and

excess age, concerns regarding

genetic determination of

physical activity and

premature from bed rest

process of

sexual performance and

stress and premature, exercise as antidote for

weakening of the immune system and cancer risk

See also
Elderly, the; Life expectancy

Airplanes, obese passengers on

Alabama, University of in Birmingham

Alcoholism

Alendronate

Allison, David

Allostatic load

Altman, Joseph

Alzheimer’s disease

cause of, new questions regarding

education and risk for

physical activity and

television viewing and

AMC Cancer Research Center

American Cancer Society

American College of Sports Medicine

American Medical Association

Amish, Ontario settlement of

Amyloid beta

Angioplasty

Antidepressants

Anxiety disorders.
See also
Mental health

Armstrong, Lance

Arteries

exercise and the condition of

narrowed

stem cells and the growth of new

See also
Heart disease

Arteriosclerosis

Arthritis

exercise as treatment for

in the knee, running and

rheumatoid

types and onset of

Asher, Richard

Asthma

Atrogenes

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Autism

Back pain

chronic

deteriorating muscles and

discectomy

disk degeneration and, problems with associating

exercise programs for

exercise vs. surgery for

“failed back surgery syndrome”

incidence of

incorrect treatment of

mental health and

reversal of traditional treatment for

spinal fusion surgery

Baker, Kristin

Balance and motor skills

Bar-tailed godwit

Barr, Joseph

Basal metabolic rate

Basen-Engquist, Karen

Bassett, David

Bears, black

Becker, Annette

Bed rest

for back pain, misunderstanding leading to

bones, impact on

as cancer treatment, exercise vs.

Dallas Bed Rest and Training Study

as a dangerous prescription

heart attacks, as prescription following

learning about the disadvantages of

as medical treatment, image of

pain and

physical consequences of

premature aging from

psychological consequences of

training to reverse the effects of

See also
Inactivity; Rest

Berg, Aloys

Bielefeld, University of

Biological age

Biological Society of France

Biomarkers

Blood

pressure (hypertension)

viscosity of, beneficial impact of exercise on

Blood sugar tolerance

Blumenthal, James

BMI.
See
Body Mass Index

Body fat

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body temperature

Bone densitometry

Bones

arthritis (
see
Arthritis)

cortical and trabecular, relative importance in stability of

density of

exercise as the only effective way to protect

exercise vs. osteoporosis drugs, effectiveness of

falls and fractures of

hip fractures, physical activity as prevention strategy for

impact of bed rest on

muscles and, single unit formed by

osteoporosis and fragile

Wolff’s law (law of the bone transformation)

Booth, Frank

Bowel cancer.
See also
Colon cancer

Brain, the

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

cholesterol in

cognitive reserve

fitness training for

learning, physical movement and

mental and motor activities, assumed separation of

mental and motor activities, linkage in the development of

neurogenesis (
see
Neurogenesis)

neuroplasticity of

new nerve cells in the hippocampus, exercise and the production of

outdated beliefs regarding

synapses, exercise and the production of

volume loss not inevitable with aging

Brain-derived neurotropic factor

Braumann, Klaus-Michael

Breast cancer

female sex hormones and

inactivity as cause of

physical activity and

See also
Cancer

Bremen Heart Centre

Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Brismée, Jean-Michel

British Columbia, University of

British Columbia Office of Health Technology Assessment

Bronchitis, chronic

Broocks, Andreas

Brown, Scott Alan

Brown-Sequard, Charles Edouard

Brox, Jens Ivar

Buckley, Alan

Calcium

California, University of at Irvine, Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia

California, University of at San Diego

Caloric intake, average in the U.S.