Exercise is essential not only for weight management, but disease prevention and longevity. 65% of the population in America is inactive and only 10% get the recommended amount of exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The obesity rate has skyrocketed in the past twenty years, creating serious health problems, such as: diabetes, stroke, heart disease, breast cancer, arthritis, hypertension, gallstones and other diseases. The body cannot function on inactivity, poor eating habits and stress.

Decrease in bone density is another concern. It affects one in six women and one in eight men over the age of fifty. The greatest bone loss occurs in post-menopausal women when estrogen levels decline. Osteoporosis can go unnoticed for years creating different health problems. After years of bone loss, spinal deformity and fractures might appear. Muscles that are not being regularly stimulated are put on hold to atrophy. When a sedentary person bends over to pick up an object, involving the movement of bones by muscles, the body ‘borrows’ another muscle to perform the job. The primary muscles that were supposed to work start degenerating while compensating muscles take over. Body imbalance sets in! For a while, a person can walk using abdominals and bend over using the thoracic back, but it is temporary. Pain and incapacitation is the usual outcome. No wonder, 80% or more people in America experience back discomfort. There is a familiar saying, ‘use it or lose it!’ We should find time to maintain the body both physically and mentally.