Essay on "Immunity, Exercise, and Chronic Disease"

Essay 3 pages (1011 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

, 2011, p. 10).

Chronic Inflammation and Exercise

When a healthy person exercises or encounters a pathogenic microbe their immune system becomes activated and produces a host of pro-inflammatory molecules (reviewed by Lee, Park, Zuidema, Hannink, and Zhang, 2011, p. 21). The pro-inflammatory response is critical for recognizing the presence of an infectious agent, such as a cold virus or bacterial infection, and then clearing the body of the pathogen and damaged tissue. In healthy individuals the pro-inflammatory molecules also induce the expression of anti-inflammatory molecules, which act to limit the pro-inflammatory response and prevent unnecessary damage to tissues. Regular exercise in healthy people therefore has an overall anti-inflammatory effect. However, individuals who live a sedentary lifestyle are at an increased risk of developing a chronic inflammatory condition that has been linked to the development of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Although more research needs to be done to find definitive answers, the benefits of an exercise program for individuals already suffering from chronic, debilitating conditions isn't clear (reviewed by Lee, Park, Zuidema, Hannink, and Zhang, 2011, p. 21). The levels of systemic pro-inflammatory cytokines doesn't seem to be affected significantly by several months of exercise, but significant reductions have been found locally in the striated muscle tissues that were engaged during exercise activities. If the heart also experienced the same benefits as skeletal muscle, then this would explain the epidemiological evidence showing exercise has anti-inflammatory activity, even in individuals suffering from chronic disease.

Summary

The benefits of diet modification and regular exercise seem clear, at least for people who are already healthy. Even though it has been shown repeatedly that people suffering from obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic, debilitating conditions can benefit from exercise and diet modification, the mechanism by which this occurs is not well understood. In addition, these findings may not be applicable to all individuals. For example, when markers of fitness were assessed at the end of a 20-week exercise program the benefits varied from none to dramatic among the study subjects (Nowak, 2004). Whether this finding suggests a similar level of variability exists among individuals in terms of an exercise-induced, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response is unknown, but it does raise this possibility. Fortunately, everyone can probably benefit from supplementing their diet with antioxidants or antioxidant-rich foods.

References

Lee, Sewon, Park, Yoonjung, Zuidema, Mozow Y., Hannink, Mark, and Zhang, Cuihua. (2011). Effects of interventions on oxidative stress and inflammation of cardiovascular disease. World Journal of Cardiology, 3, 18-24. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030733/pdf/WJC-3-18.pdf

Nowak, Rachel. (2004, Dec. 2). Some people are 'immune' to exercise. New Scientist. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2011 from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6735-some-people-are-immune-to-exercise.html

Walsh, Neil P., Gleeson, Michael, Shephard, Roy J., Gleeson, Maree, Woods, Jeffrey A., Bishop, Nicolette C. et al. (2011). Position statement part one:… READ MORE

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