The goal of fitness, in the largest sense, is promoting optimal health. I like to focus on the positives, but today, I want to discuss some of the negative things that fitness helps us avoid. Our vocabulary word is comorbidities.
Comorbidities are conditions that make it difficult for us to be healthy. There are lots of them, but here are a few of the most common and how fitness helps us reduce them.
Heart disease is a very common comorbidity. When we do our cardio exercise, we are reducing our susceptibility to clogged arteries and heart attack. We also improve our lung function, which helps us avoid things like COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
Type 2 Diabetes is another increasingly common comorbidity. Both cardio and weight training help keep this one away. Cardio increases glucose tolerance in the body and weight training increases lean body mass.
While I believe that healthy bodies come in every size, excess body weight can, in some circumstances, put us at higher risk, so overweight is considered a comorbidity. Our work at the gym helps us avoid overweight or reduce it when we also work on eating foods that are good for us.
We want to have long, happy, and fun lives. Working on our fitness now will help us live better.
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