Exercise not only makes you look good but it also makes you feel good too. Others see the outside of your body, but the really important indicator of health is what’s going on inside the body. Many people equate being thin with being healthy, but that’s not really true. Even people who are thin can have health problems. That’s not to say people shouldn’t try to have a healthy weight; people who are overweight are setting themselves up for a multitude of problems.

The number one benefit of physical activity is weight loss. I name this one first because obesity brings about a lot of physiological changes in the body that are not good. An overweight and obese individual is at greater risk for heart disease, stroke, heart attack, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and joint pain. When obesity is no longer a factor through regular exercise, these other conditions that may have developed are lessened or disappear all together.

So, all of the major benefits that we can think of are tied to obesity in some way. Losing weight through exercise makes a big difference in a person’s life. They may not realize it but they are preventing premature death from disease by lowering their body weight.

But losing weight is not the whole story. Exercise has psychological benefits too. Consider the fact that all good health is related to the mind-body connection. On a daily basis, our bodies go through many changes. Depending on the nature of your job, work stress can be a tremendous factor. Stress can cause the body to change the way that it works and how it functions. In fact, stress can be fatal if continued and worsened over time.

It isn’t just job stress that takes its toll on one’s body. Just the stress of everyday living, things we encounter at home, affects the body as well. Fortunately, exercise can alleviate that stress and the chronic problems it causes. More oxygen to the brain means a clearer head when it comes to creating solutions to problems; making you better able to deal with whatever situation is at hand.

Exercise has been known to reduce, or eliminate completely depressive feelings. If your depression is tied to an inability to cope with life or the way that you look, exercise will change the way you look as the program continues. When we feel good, it gives us hope in other areas of our lives. It may sound finny when a woman says if her hair doesn’t look good, she doesn’t feel good, but actually, it’s very true. It is about perception on many levels. How we perceive ourselves is the defining factor in how we see all areas of our lives.

Exercise strengthens all parts of our bodies. This is especially important when it comes to bone density. Research has been done on the connection between bone strength and exercise in senior adults and has shown that high impact exercising actually strengthens bones.

This is another example of how exercise does more for our bodies than just what meets the eye. We can see what it does for our muscles just by looking in the mirror, but it offers far more than can be seen from the outside.