Exercise, Physical Activity, and Wellness Learning Activity

NEP 1111
Spring 2024
Luke Schulz

Purpose: To explore benefits of exercise and physical activity on physical wellness and disease
prevention

To Do: Answer the questions below using references of any type (websites, books, articles, etc.
as long as they are reputable and accurate) and submit the completed assignment by midnight on
Sunday, February 25 at 11:59 pm.

Tips:
 Make sure you are using reputable sources for your information. This includes sources
like government or organizational websites (Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
American Heart Association, National Institute of Health, etc) as well as primary research
papers and educational websites. Look for websites that end in .edu or .gov rather
than .com. For more resource tips, look back at the library resources I shared in week 3.
 Always cite your sources! (For this class, you don’t have to use formal citations or any
specific format, but you do need to tell me where you find the information. Citations will
be worth 3 of the total 20 points.) Question 5 does not need a citation.

Questions

1. List at least 4 benefits of regular physical activity and exercise that are related to physical
wellness.

- Improve brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk if disease, and strengthen
bones and muscles.
- https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm#:~:text=Being
%20physically%20active%20can%20improve,ability%20to%20do%20everyday
%20activities.

2. Choose one of the following chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, or Alzheimer’s
disease. How can exercise decrease risk for the disease you chose? Are there certain
types or amounts of exercise that might be more effective in preventing this disease than
others?

- Exercise can help your risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, lowering
cholesterol, improving blood flow, and improving blood sugar. The best type of exercise,
which outweighs normal trips to the gym, would be mixing aerobic exercise (jogging,
swimming, biking) with resistance training (moderate weightlifting).
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercise-and-the-
heart#:~:text=The%20American%20Heart%20Association%20and,preventing%20and
%20managing%20heart%20disease.
3. Your aunt was just told she is prediabetic. She knows that you have been taking this
class, and is interested in your recommendations on using exercise to decrease her risk of
developing type 2 diabetes. What SPECIFIC (time, intensity, mode) exercise
recommendations would you give her?

- “Persons with type 2 diabetes should undertake at least 150 min/week of moderate
to vigorous aerobic exercise spread out during at least 3 days during the week, with
no more than 2 consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activity.”
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992225/#:~:text=In%20addition%20to
%20aerobic%20training,2%E2%80%933%20days%2Fweek.&text=Supervised%20and
%20combined%20aerobic%20and,yoga)%20have%20shown%20mixed%20results.)

4. What type of exercises are best for improving bone health? Why?

- Weight-bearing aerobic activities, such as walking, low-impact aerobics, and stair

climbing helps improve bones health. These exercises put stress on bones, which in turn
makes them stronger.
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoporosis/in-depth/osteoporosis/art-
20044989#:~:text=Weight%2Dbearing%20aerobic%20activities,-Weight%2Dbearing
%20aerobic&text=Examples%20include%20walking%2C%20dancing%2C
%20low,spine%20to%20slow%20bone%20loss.

5. Consider Columbia, MO (or your own hometown if you are a distance student) for this
question. Considering everything we’ve already discussed in the class so far about
exercise barriers and motivations and the built environment, what are some pros and cons
of Columbia as a place to exercise? What is the city doing well? What could the city
improve on?

- I think Columbia is a great place to live in terms of exercise. Not only do we have one of
the nation’s largest rec facilities, but the entire town is surrounded by trails that stretch
for miles that can be used to run, walk, or enjoy nature. The only con to Columbia, is how
cold it gets in the winter, and if this town was in Texas, it would have no cons. I think the
city is doing promotion of different exercise opportunities well, such as ads for new
gyms, or creating rec leagues for different sports. I think the city could improve on the
cleanliness of the downtown area, so more people can be convinced to come here.