THESE days, the human race seems to be plagued by a plethora of chronic and even life-threatening illnesses. When we look at the overall picture in terms of the number of recorded incidents of chronic disease, only a small number of cases is heredity, which is where the disease or the traits of the disease are passed through successive generations.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, however, lifestyle factors and choices are to be blamed or are the major contributors to us developing these illnesses. Notably present among the lifestyle factors that cause many of these illnesses are physical inactivity or lack of exercise, and obesity. I’m highlighting the role that lifestyle factors play in developing chronic illnesses because most of the times we can dodge the bullet with our own actions. These diseases are preventable.

The pervasiveness of chronic diseases can be reduced by our own doing if we just determine that we’re going to be more careful about what we put into our bodies and what we expose it to, and more physical effort into caring for it. Your exercise programme and physical activity in general are an integral part of that preventative lifestyle.

If we look at cardiovascular illnesses, of all the disorders that fall within this category, most notable are hypertension, myocardial infarction or heart attack, and stroke.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is where the systolic and/or diastolic pressure of the individual is too high, requiring to take antihypertensive medication. Systolic and diastolic pressure just refer to the blood pressure during the contraction and relaxation phases of the heart’s cardiac cycle. Some of the things that may cause hypertension are stress, obesity, smoking, and dietary excesses in alcohol, fat and especially too much salt. Based on the first two causes mentioned in that list, you can see right away how exercise can play a role in controlling hypertension and keeping it at bay in the first place. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to manage stress. Likewise, exercise along with a healthy, low-calorie diet is one of the best methods of preventing or eliminating obesity.

Heart attack occurs when there is a complete blockage of blood to the heart muscle due to a narrowing of the coronary arteries. Risk factors for a heart attack include high cholesterol, hypertension and obesity, and we already know the effect exercise will have on the last two. Stroke is usually caused either by a narrowing of the cerebral blood vessels or if a blood clot lodges in a cerebral artery. Exercising may help to avoid stroke since during exercise, blood flow in the body is increased, including in the cerebral (brain) tissue. Also, hypertensive people are at much greater risk of stroke and we have definitely established the value of exercise in negating hypertension.

In coming weeks we will continue to look at some more categories of chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis, and how you can avoid them through lifestyle changes which includes regular exercise.

Marlon Ebanks is a personal fitness instructor who has been certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America since 2009.