Many people have long recognized the importance of exercise in managing weight.

But in recent years scientists have learned much more about how many roles it plays and just how it provides both physical and psychological benefits.

It’s about the heart

Getting up off the couch can reduce your risks for heart attack and stroke.

These catastrophes typically occur when damaged arteries promote the formation of a clot, which blocks vital blood flow.

(Arteries carry blood to tissues throughout the body, including the heart). Exercise counteracts several factors that contribute to artery disease. It helps lower high blood pressure.

It also reduces blood levels of triglycerides (blood fats) as well as “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, while raising levels of “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

If you have diabetes, you probably already its central feature-too much glucose in the blood-is itself a risk factor for heart disease. Over time, high glucose levels provoke changes that injure arteries.

It’s well known that exercise helps keep blood glucose levels within the normal range. Exercise also helps prevent weight gain.

Recently, researchers have shown that exercise reduces other heart disease risk factors as well, including blood vessel inflammation and impaired function of artery linings. [source: Health Monitor] Note: To be continued…