Before the conveniences of modern living, for thousands of generations, when people wanted to get somewhere, they walked. Natural selection has fine-tuned our bodies to move efficiently through the environment. We are built to do it. Our physiology craves it or will grow sluggish in its absence. Activities that developed strength, balance, and aerobic fitness were once necessary for our ancestors survival. What we call the bodies adaptive response to exercise they called do-or-die, and those who lived to pass their genes on to us were those most capable of doing.

Movement taps into eons of physiological natural selection. Instead of getting sluggish, it makes us more efficient. Blood flow increases to muscle, brain, vital organs. New vasculature grows to meet the demand. Nerves sprout new connections. Lung function and the ability to produce and use energy improve. Muscles grow while fat ratios shrink. Bones become stronger. Stress decreases. Mood improves. Permanent changes in brain structure occur and more neurotransmitters are produced to signal thought and emotion. Reaction time improves as do memory, attention, learning ability. With regular exercise the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and debilitating chronic illness drops, and it all happens across the board without regard to age, gender, or initial state of physical inefficiency. If the best medicine is that which keeps things healthy so you won’t have to fix them later, this could be the fountain of youth.

There are elegant, elaborate, often expensive interventions available in every field of health care. When the goal is lifetime disease prevention none are more elegant than a proper diet, an active lifestyle, and a way to cope effectively with stress. There are no tools better for preventing or delaying the chronic illnesses that today account for over 80% of death and disability in the US. Rather then wear out we more often succumb to the effects of disuse. An example of our not doing so well at the interface between lifestyle and genetics can be seen by looking at the hyper-increase in rates of obesity and diabetes during the last 50 years. In that time the human genome hasn’t changed at all, but dramatic changes in diet and activity level influence genes that were once advantageous to our ancestors in times of famine to express dysfunction that would otherwise not be expressed. While lifestyle induced obesity runs rampant, there are university studies that suggest that walking briskly for 30 minutes on most days and putting more fruits and vegetables into our shopping carts will keep most people from ever gaining another pound.

How much then must we do to make meaningful change? In the Exercise for Health and Well-Being arena the research suggests that we certainly don’t need to run marathons, but consistency helps. In one study walking, gardening, and dancing a few times a week provided enough activity to decrease the likelihood of death by 40% in seniors. A 15 minute walk leads to improvement in both energy level and mood across age groups and there are valuable cognitive benefits when exercise is done just 15 minutes a day, 3 days per week. The CDC recommends 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days and a Mayo Clinic report suggests walking for 30 minutes 5 days a week at a brisk pace, but one that would allow you to carry on a conversation if you were walking with a partner. For new exercisers they suggest building up to 30 minutes over time and note that the health effects of physical activity are relatively the same whether it is done in one 30-minute session or broken up into more manageable chunks throughout the day. It appears that doing 150 minutes of exercise spread throughout the week is more important then intensity level for long-term health benefits, and our bodies turn almost any consistent increase in activity into a reason to work better.

The profound effects of exercise are unavoidable in bodies that are predisposed to move. Some will occur because we do it, others because we don’t. If you choose to take your chances with the We Do It group there are a variety of practitioners who can assist with designing personal exercise programs that address safety, aerobics, strength, and balance needs. There are also incredible long-term health benefits available by just going outside and walking around some everyday. It’s been said that if the benefits of a 15 to 30 minute walk could be sold in a pill, there’d be a lot less need for other pills. The research not only supports this but virtually cries out for us to get up and move. It demonstrates clear benefits that in the end allow us to live longer and more fully. Luckily, this is Rehoboth and spring is breaking around us. Fresh ocean breezes blow in with the endless waves. Look outside. It’s hard to find a more beautiful place for a walk at the beach.

Dr. Ray Pursell practices at Gentle Chiropractic in the Body Mind Center for Massage and Bodywork on Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. He is a Diplomat of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board and holds certifications in both spinal and extremity care. He can be reached at RayPursellDC@cs.com or by phone at 302-542-4468.