Small changes in your life can have a big impact on your health.

Take exercise. Doing it for half an hour or 45 minutes is very effective for burning calories and improving your fitness level. But sneaking a little more exercise into your life has its benefits.

Sneaking could include parking farther away from the supermarket or your workplace. Using the stairs instead of the elevator if only for a few floors adds quite a bit of exercise to your day. You could take a walk during your lunch break. Or you could pace in place or ride your exercise bike while watching television. A little added to a little more adds up to a lot.

Burning calories through these activities counts just as much for weight loss as limiting calories. A new study by Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State shows there is no difference in calorie use between exercise and diet. Calories are calories no matter how you choose to reduce them in your life.

If you want to have more fun while burning calories, think about things you like to do. Half an hour of planting vegetables in a garden burns 150 calories. An even better burn comes from dancing.

Experts say the key to getting exercise every day lies in adding exercise to activities that you do all the time. That’s a program you are likely to stick to.

Exercise can help people at any stage of life. Physical activity provides benefits, regardless of your age, gender, or current fitness level. The benefits of regular exercise include:

Improved Health

• Increased efficiency of heart and lungs
• Increased muscle strength
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Reduced blood pressure
• Reduced risk of major illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease
• Weight loss

Enhanced Sense of Well-Being

• Increased mental acuity
• More energy
• Improved quality of sleep
• Improved ability to cope with stress
• Reduced tension

Improved Appearance

• Weight loss
• Toned muscles
• Improved posture

Enhanced Social Life

• Improved self-image
• More energy to engage in social activities
• More opportunities to make new friends (i.e., through exercise)
• More opportunities to share activities with friends or family members

Increased Stamina

• Increased productivity
• Increased physical capabilities
• Improved immunity to minor illnesses
• Fewer injuries

The Fitness Formula

To improve overall conditioning, health experts, including the Surgeon General of the United States, recommend at least 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity on all or most days of the week. Examples of moderate activity include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or doing home repairs or yard work. If you can’t get in 30 minutes all at once, aim for shorter periods of activity - at least 10 minutes - that add up to a half hour per day. If you have not exercised in a long time, start with shorter sessions of 5 to 10 minutes and build gradually from there. To help you get started with a physical activity program, you can sign up for the President’s Challenge, a free motivational awards program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (www.presidentschallenge.org).

Structured exercise programs bring obvious benefits, but most people can move toward better fitness by changing their daily lifestyle to incorporate more activity. Muscles used in any activity, any time of day, contribute to fitness. Here are some suggestions for incorporating more activity into your daily life:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park at the far end of a parking lot and walk to the office or the mall.
• If you ride the bus, get off a few blocks before your stop and walk the rest of the way.
• Get up from your desk during the day to stretch and walk around.
• Take a brisk walk when you get the urge to snack.
• Increase your pace when working in the house or yard.
• Mow your own lawn and rake your own leaves.
• Carry your own groceries.
• Play outside with your children or grandchildren - it doesn’t matter so much what - catch, hopscotch, or horseshoes - just keep moving.

Make It a Habit

The key to a lifetime of fitness is consistency. Here are some tips ta help make regular exercise a habit:

• Choose an activity you enjoy that fits your lifestyle.
• Set realistic goals, and tailor your program to your own fitness level.
• Give your body a chance to adjust to your new routine.
• Stay positive even though you may not see immediate results.
• Don’t give up if you miss a day; just get back on track the next day.

Find a partner for a little motivation and socialization (support from family and friends has been positively related to regular physical activity).

• Build some rest days into your exercise schedule.

Listen to your body. If you experience unusual symptoms (e.g., have difficulty breathing or experience faintness or prolonged weakness during or after exercise) consult your physician.

Choosing more than one type of physical activity will give your body a thorough workout and help prevent boredom. You might want to choose one indoor exercise and one outdoor activity to allow for changes in your schedule or for bad weather.

The important thing to remember is move, move, and move! Incorporate as much physical activity as you can into your daily life, through exercise and routine activities.

American Diabetes Month: Take steps to prevent it …
Turn a card, take a walk, lose a pound
 What connection could there possibly be between a card game and diabetes? In one way, there is one.
 The Royal London Hospital reports that for every two hours you spend watching television daily, your risk of diabetes rises by as much as 14 percent. When you play games like cards and Scrabble, you are less likely to be snacking than when you watch TV.

 The hospital also found that when one spouse has diabetes, the other’s risk of getting the disease is doubled. Type 2 diabetes is not contagious, but a “diabetes lifestyle” is.
 During November, check your own risk factors. Search the Internet for American Diabetes Month and click on the Diabetes Risk Test.
 If your score is high, you may have pre-diabetes. The good news is that the recent Diabetes Prevention Program study conclusively showed that people can prevent the development of type 2 by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity. They may be able to return their blood glucose levels to the normal range.
 The study showed that medications may delay the development of diabetes, but diet and exercise work better. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity coupled with a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in body weight produced a big reduction in risk.
 People are getting the message. Undiagnosed cases in black and Hispanic men, for example, have dropped dramatically in the last three decades.’
 People who have type 2 diabetes should follow their doctors” instructions to avoid heart attacks, eye disease, nerve damage, and kidney failure.