How Much Exercise Do I Need?

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. It has many benefits. It can improve your overall health and fitness and reduce your risk for many chronic diseases. To get the most benefit, here's how much physical activity you should get:

For adults

Get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. Or you could do a combination of the two:

• Try to spread your physical activity out over several days of the week. That's better than trying to do it all in one or two days.
• Some days you may not have long blocks of time to do physical activity. You can start slowly and break your exercise time into chunks. Even small amounts of exercise can be helpful.
• Aerobic activities include walking fast, jogging, swimming, and biking.
• Moderate intensity means that while you are doing that activity you should be able to say a few words in a row but not sing.
• Vigorous intensity means that while you are doing that activity, you won't be able to say more than a few words without stopping for a breath.

Also, do strengthening activities two or more days per week:

• Strengthening activities include lifting weights, working with exercise bands, and doing sit-ups and pushups.
• Choose activities that work all parts of your body your legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms. For each exercise, try repeating the movement 8 to 12 times. As you get stronger, work up to doing 2 or 3 rounds of each exercise for the best results.

If you are an older adult, you may also benefit from a combination of activities that include aerobic exercises, strength or resistance training, and balance training. Balance training such as walking heel-to-toe or standing on one leg may help improve stability and prevent falls. Before you start exercising, check with your health care provider to determine the best type or amount of activity for you based on your fitness level and health.

For preschool-aged children (ages 3-5)

Preschool children should be physically active throughout the day, to help with their growth and development:

• They should get both structured and unstructured active play. Structured play has a goal and is directed by an adult. Examples include playing a sport or a game. Unstructured play is creative free play, such as playing on a playground.
• Encourage active play with a variety of activities.

For children and teens

Get 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day. Most of it should be moderate-intensity aerobic activity:

• Activities should vary and be a good fit for the child's age and physical development
• Moderate-intensity aerobic activities include walking, running, skipping, playing on the playground, playing basketball, and biking

As part of the 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity, try to do each of these at least 3 days a week: vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening activity, and bone-strengthening activity:

• Vigorous-intensity aerobic activities include running, jumping jacks, and fast swimming
• Muscle-strengthening activities include playing on playground equipment, playing tug-of-war, and doing pushups and pull-ups
• Bone-strengthening activities include hopping, skipping, jumping jacks, playing volleyball, and working with resistance bands

Older adults, pregnant women, and people with chronic health problems

Older adults, pregnant women, and people who have disabilities or special health needs should check with their provider on how much physical activity they should get and what types of activities they should do.

Exercise tips

People who are trying to lose weight may need to get more physical activity. They also need to adjust their diet, so they are burning more calories than they eat and drink.

If you have been inactive, you may need to start exercising slowly. You can keep adding more gradually. The more you can do, the better. But try not to feel overwhelmed and do what you can. Getting some physical activity is always better than getting none. Even small increases in exercise can benefit your health.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Intestinal Cancer

Your small intestine is part of your digestive system. It is a long tube that connects your stomach to your large intestine. Intestinal cancer is rare, but eating a high-fat diet or having Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or a history of colonic polyps can increase your risk.

Possible signs of small intestine cancer include:

• Abdominal pain
• Weight loss for no reason
• Blood in the stool
• A lump in the abdomen

Imaging tests that create pictures of the small intestine and the area around it can help diagnose intestinal cancer and show whether it has spread.

Surgery is the most common treatment. Additional options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Kidney Cancer

You have two kidneys. They are fist-sized organs on either side of your backbone above your waist. The tubes inside filter and clean your blood, taking out waste products and making urine. Kidney cancer forms in the lining of tiny tubes inside your kidneys.

Kidney cancer becomes more likely as you age. Risk factors include smoking, having certain genetic conditions, and misusing pain medicines for a long time.

You may have no symptoms at first. They may appear as the cancer grows. See your health care provider if you notice:

• Blood in your urine
• A lump in your abdomen
• Weight loss for no reason
• Pain in your side that does not go away
• Loss of appetite

Tests to diagnose kidney cancer include blood, urine, and imaging tests. You may also have a biopsy.

Treatment depends on your age, your overall health and how advanced the cancer is. It might include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, biologic, or targeted therapies. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Lung Diseases

When you breathe, your lungs take in oxygen from the air and deliver it to the bloodstream. The cells in your body need oxygen to work and grow. During a normal day, you breathe nearly 25,000 times. People with lung disease have difficulty breathing. Millions of people in the U.S. have lung disease. If all types of lung disease are lumped together, it is the number three killer in the United States.

The term lung disease refers to many disorders affecting the lungs, such as asthma, COPD, infections like influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis, lung cancer, and many other breathing problems. Some lung diseases can lead to respiratory failure.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Lupus

What is lupus?

Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) type of autoimmune disease.Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This attack causes inflammation. It can also damage many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, and brain.

There are several types of lupus:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common type. It can be mild or severe and can affect many parts of the body.
• Cutaneous lupus affects the skin. It causes a rash or sores, usually after your skin is exposed to sunlight. The two major types of cutaneous lupus are discoid lupus and subacute cutaneous lupus.
• Drug-induced lupus is caused by a reaction to some medicines. The symptoms may start 3 to 6 months after starting the medicine. The symptoms usually go away when you stop taking the medicine.
• Neonatal lupus, which is rare, affects newborns. It is caused by certain antibodies that are passed from the pregnant parent to the baby.

What causes lupus?

The cause of lupus is unknown. Researchers are studying what might cause or trigger the disease, such as:

• Genetics
• Environmental factors, such as viral infections, sunlight, certain medicines, and smoking
• Problems with the immune system

Who is more likely to get lupus?

Anyone can get lupus, but women get it much more often than men.

Lupus is more common in African Americans than in White people. It is also more common in people of American Indian and Asian descent. African American and Hispanic women are more likely to have severe forms of lupus.

What are the symptoms of lupus?

Lupus can have many symptoms, and they differ from person to person. Some of the more common ones are:

• Arthritis, causing painful and swollen joints and morning stiffness
• Fever
• Fatigue or feeling tired often
• Red rashes, most often on the face (also called the "butterfly rash")
• Chest pain when taking a deep breath
• Hair loss
• Pale or purple fingers or toes, from cold and stress (Raynaud phenomenon)
• Sensitivity to the sun
• Swelling in legs or around eyes
• Mouth ulcers
• Swollen glands
• Headache and dizziness
• Confusion and memory problems

Symptoms may come and go. When you are having symptoms, it is called a flare. Flares can range from mild to severe. New symptoms may appear at any time.

What other problems can lupus cause?

Lupus causes inflammation throughout your body. This can cause problems in your organs, including:

• Kidney damage (lupus nephritis).
• Heart problems, including inflammation in the heart (myocarditis), heart valves, or lining of the heart muscle (pericarditis).
• Inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis).
• Blood clots
• Inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the lungs (pleurisy). This can make it painful to breathe.

Some people with lupus may be more likely to develop other conditions, such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and atherosclerosis.

How is lupus diagnosed?

There is no specific test for lupus, and it's often mistaken for other diseases that cause similar symptoms. So it may take a while to get a diagnosis. To find out if you have lupus, your health care provider:

• Will ask about your symptoms, medical history, and family health history
• Will do a complete physical exam
• May order blood tests, such as ANA (antinuclear antibody), antibodies, complete blood count, and complement tests
• May order other tests, such as urine tests
• May do biopsies:
  • Skin biopsy (looking at skin samples under a microscope)
  • Kidney biopsy (looking at tissue from your kidney under a microscope)

What are the treatments for lupus?

There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control it.

People with lupus often need to see different providers. You will most likely have a primary care provider and a rheumatologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases of the joints and muscles). Which other specialists you will depend on how lupus affects your body. For example, if lupus is damaging your heart or blood vessels, you would see a cardiologist (a doctor who specializes in heart diseases).

Your primary care provider should coordinate care between all of your other providers and treat other problems as they come up. You and your primary care provider will develop a treatment plan to fit your needs. You will both review the plan often to make sure that it is working. You should report new symptoms to your provider right away so that your treatment plan can be changed, if needed.

The goals of a treatment plan are to:

• Prevent flares
• Treat flares when they occur
• Reduce organ damage and other problems
• Improve your quality of life

Treatments may include drugs to:

• Reduce fever, swelling, and pain
• Reduce inflammation in your body
• Prevent or reduce flares
• Reduce or prevent damage to joints
• Suppress (lower) the activity of your immune system

Besides taking medicines for lupus, you may need to take medicines for problems that are related to lupus such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or infection.

Alternative and complementary therapies are therapies that are not part of standard treatments. Some people try alternative and complementary therapies to improve their lupus symptoms. But research has not clearly shown whether these treatments may help or treat lupus. Talk to your provider before trying any new treatments.

How can I cope with lupus?

It is important to take an active role in your treatment. It helps to learn more about lupus - being able to spot the warning signs of a flare can help you prevent the flare or make the symptoms less severe.

It is also important to find ways to cope with the stress of having lupus. Exercising and finding ways to relax may make it easier for you to cope. A good support system can also help.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases