(This article is sponsored by Copeman Healthcare.)

By Dr. Kara Solmundson, family physician, sports & exercise medicine physician

What if a medication was effective in preventing and treating dozens of diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, and even cancer? What if this same medication could improve your mood, mental health, stress levels, emotional well-being, and sleep? Would you take it?

This medication does exist—it’s called exercise. The side-effects are more energy, clearer thinking, and greater sense of well-being. It’s free, recommended for all ages, and for best results, taken daily.

Exercise is medicine

Exercise is a powerful medicine. Regular physical activity plays a crucial role in the treatment and prevention of over 30 different chronic diseases—including the leading causes of death in our society. You can decrease your risk of dying prematurely from any cause by 30 percent and decrease your risk of dying from heart disease by 50 percent if you are physically fit.

Despite the harms of physical inactivity, only 22 percent of Canadian adults meet the Canadian physical activity guideline of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. Only seven percent of Canadian children and youth aged five to 17 meet their physical activity target of 60 minutes per day.

Exercise: the minimum dose

If you haven’t been active in a while (or ever), by walking just 10 minutes per day, you will decrease your risk of dying from heart disease by 10 percent!

How to make exercise easier

For many people, beginning to incorporate regular physical activity into a busy lifestyle seems overwhelming. For anyone who has been chronically inactive but wants to get moving, try starting with easy movement of shorter duration and go more often.
If you’re already active, try adding additional movement into your day, using active transport, parking farther away, taking the stairs, playing outside with your kids (or grandchildren), changing work meetings to walking meetings, or adding a short power-walk at lunch. There are so many strategies to sit less and move more, regardless of your fitness level.

Adding movement in smaller, yet more frequent periods of time, stimulates your metabolism, decreases your perceived barriers to being active, and helps integrate movement as a natural part of your daily routine.

What’s your exercise prescription?

Exercise can be broken up into several core components, often abbreviated as FITT: frequency, intensity, time, and type. The FITT components of your workout plan will vary depending on your unique circumstances. Since we all have different fitness goals and interests, it’s important to get an individually tailored exercise “prescription” that fulfills your needs.

While cardiovascular exercise is considered essential, strength or resistance exercise has also been shown to reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. Children should also engage in activities that help strengthen their muscles and bones to optimize their skeletal health and promote neuromuscular development. Most kids do this naturally during outdoor play—think climbing, playing on monkey bars, and jumping!

Exercise is like a “super drug” that boasts countless health benefits and life-saving side effects—and your Copeman team is standing by to help build your perfect workout plan. Just remember that movement is medicine—so make sure you take yours daily!

Dr. Kara Solmundson is a former Canadian Olympian, Family Medicine and Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician at Copeman Healthcare. She is passionate about prevention, health and wellness. She loves helping others be the healthiest versions of themselves. You can find her on twitter @MD_HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living).

*This is not specific medical advice. If you have a health condition, or have been inactive for a long time, please see your doctor prior to engaging in an exercise program.