7) Helps Prevent Brain Degeneration
Individuals who exercise regularly have lower rates of age-related memory and cognitive decline than sedentary people.
In fact, one study showed that women who exercise the most have a 20% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment.
Resistance training exercises can improve the memory of elderly individuals with prior memory problems and protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
One study found that individuals older than 65 had much less chance of dementia if they exercised at least 3 times per week.
8) Helps Prevent Cancer
Regular physical activity is associated with reduced risk of cancers, especially colon and breast cancer.
In fact, a recent study found that exercise can reduce the chances of getting 13 different types of cancers.
Physically active individuals have a 30-40% lower risk of colon cancer than those that are inactive.
Active women have 26-40% less chance of cancer-related death than their inactive counterparts .
Regular exercise also increases the reported quality of life among cancer patients.
Intense exercise and walking both reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Exercise is associated with improved breast cancer survival rate, possibly due to its ability to reduce IL-6.