We are great to chew on the sporting feats of Rafa Nadal or Mireia del Monte. We can spend four hours and 49 minutes watching the final of the US Open (and even boast about it) but we do not have time to give that daily walk of 20 minutes recommended by the Health Organization (WHO) at least to be reasonably well.

Exaggerations? Here are the data: 46% of Spaniards did not do any sport during 2017 , according to the Eurobarometer 2018. A scary percentage that places us, together with Greeks, Bulgarians and Portuguese at the head of the most mushroom countries in Europe .

It doesn't matter if they tell us that 'sitting' is the new 'smoking'. Those more than 50,000 annual deaths that, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, occur related to sedentary lifestyle do not seem to go with us.

At this point, there are still those who think that exercising is an absolutely unnecessary (and very tired) effort that, in addition, is impossible to fit into an agenda full of obligations. Moreover, there are still those who think that the goal of playing sports is to show off a perfect 'six pack' in social networks or drill family and friends with the times obtained in the race.

Well, no. That 46% of sports skeptics should get into the mill once and for all that what is at stake is their health. Empty words? Here are, once again, the data.

GENERAL BENEFITS

1. Increase life expectancy between four and five years. It is estimated that the longevity of Olympic athletes is greater in seven years than that of the individuals of their generation.

A study by the Copenhagen City Heart Study showed that the important thing about sports is not so much the intensity with which it is practiced as the social component that it implies. That is, the fact of doing them accompanied by other people has a more positive effect on health.

According to this, tennis is the discipline that can extend life the most (9.7 years); it is followed by badminton with 6.2 and football with 4.7 years. Sports alone do not cease to have a positive influence: swimming wins 3.4 years, jogging 3.2 and gymnastics 3.1.

2. Reduces the risk of mortality. People who do not do enough physical exercise have a mortality risk between 20% and 30% higher than those who are active enough.

What is being active enough? WHO recommends, for adults 18 to 64 years of age, practicing at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week (for example, walking) or a minimum of 75 minutes if it is intense. From 65 years of age onwards, 150 minutes per week should be used to perform moderate aerobic physical activities, or some type of vigorous aerobic physical activity for 75 minutes.

3. It improves the quality of life. No other therapeutic strategy, not even pharmacological and nutritional ones, achieves as many healthy effects on the organism as physical exercise.

Not only does it avoid disease, but it improves the quality of life. Sport increases the pain threshold and its tolerance, gives a feeling of pleasure, less susceptibility to stress, greater self-esteem and reduction of cardiovascular responses to stress, improves cognitive function, and reduces the risk of suffering from anxiety and depression.

PHYSICAL BENEFITS

1. Stronger bones and muscles. It generates an increase in bone density, improving the structural characteristics of the bones, which can be useful in preventing future problems such as osteoporosis. On a muscular level, it facilitates their development, strengthening them and improving the ability to make efforts without fatigue.

2. Improves cardiovascular function. Performed regularly (sticking big binge on Sundays does not count) and regulated (with a controlled effort), it contributes to more bradycardia (fewer beats per minute), which decreases oxygen consumption and has a cardiovascular and syndrome protective effect metabolic, reducing the risk of suffering a myocardial infarction. It modulates the circulatory system, improving blood pressure control.

3. Prevents overweight and diabetes. Pillar, along with the diet, of the treatment of any type of diabetes, the practice of sports activities in our daily lives entails important improvements in our health as well as a better control of the levels of sugar, cholesterol and tension in diabetic patients.

It speeds up the intestinal transit improving constipation. Producing a series of anti-inflammatory substances (cytokines) improves the symptoms of the irritable bowel, both pain and bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

4. Cancer prevention. It is estimated that 35% of the European adult population is physically inactive. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has specified that approximately 35% of cancer-related deaths are due to modifiable factors , being a sedentary lifestyle one of them.

According to your criteria, at least one third of all cancer cases can be prevented . In fact, prevention is the most cost-effective long-term strategy for cancer control.

But is there really a relationship between sport or physical activity and cancer? Several studies indicate that routine physical activity is associated with a reduction in the incidence of some tumors such as colon, breast, lung and endometrial cancer.

In this line, there are data that suggest that physical activity may have a protective role against some tumors such as lung, pancreas, ovary, prostate, kidney and stomach (the evidence is modest and not consistent).

In the 'European Code Against Cancer', an initiative of the European Commission to inform citizens about what they can do for themselves or their family to reduce the risk of suffering from this disease, it is recommended to exercise daily.

5. Improves sex life. By enhancing cardiovascular endurance, performance in bed is increased. Another benefit is the increase in blood flow, an effect that causes greater irrigation in the sexual organs and, consequently, an increase in pleasure during sexual intercourse.

A greater strength and flexibility, more repertoire of positions and, therefore, more fun. It helps maintain and even refloat testosterone levels that, in men, begin to languish after age 30.

Having a well-toned pelvic floor also favors obtaining more pleasant orgasms, favors its arrival in women and can delay it, in men.

MENTALS

1. Analgesic effect and cognitive deactivation. In addition to improving the character, it provides psychosocial benefits fighting isolation, depression or anxiety, promoting self-esteem and social cohesion. If we manage to overcome laziness and initial fatigue, exercising means achieving an achievement, which results in the person's confidence and motivation to face other situations.

2. Fight depression. By promoting the segregation of endorphins (neurotransmitters that modulate pain and cause pleasant sensations), different scientific studies indicate the importance of physical exercise to fight depression.

It is more than proven that endorphins participate in memory and attention, so that by increasing our sense of internal well-being, they increase proportionally. It also seems clear its relationship with the strengthening of the immune system when it comes to fighting diseases and painful processes , decreases the sensation of both physical and psychological pain.

Currently, research is being carried out on what type of exercise is the most beneficial and how often and how much intensity should be performed , since it turns out to be therapeutic for depression, low cost, relatively safe and has fewer side effects than pharmacological treatments.

3. Goodbye stress. It helps eliminate harmful substances from the blood that accumulate when we enter anxiety states (that is, normal in our day to day). It is, along with conscious breathing, a valuable ally to reduce stress levels as it increases serotonin production. That makes, for example, reduce the feeling of hunger and improve digestive symptoms such as aerophagia (belching) and those associated with the irritable bowel. By moderating appetite and increasing energy expenditure, it helps control or lose weight and improve symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux.

4. Improves self-esteem. It is a powerful agent against apathy that, by improving (along with healthy eating) body image, makes us feel more comfortable in our skin.

REPORTAGE PREPARED WITH INFORMATION FROM:

Marta Campo Ruano , Head of Psychology at the University Hospital La Zarzuela.

César Morcillo, head of Internal Medicine at the Sanitas CIMA Hospital.

Pepe Zamorano , head of Cardiology at the University Hospital La Zarzuela.

Andrea Azcárate , Head of Endocrinology at La Moraleja University Hospital.

José María Alberdi, head of the Digestive System of the La Zarzuela University Hospital.

Elena Isla , doctor of the Sports Medicine Unit of the La Moraleja University Hospital.

Ana Sierra, sexologist.

David Taylor , personal trainer.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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