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Exercise is Medicine: How Physical Activity Boosts Health and Slows Aging
Aging, despite its dismal reputation, is actually one of the great mysteries of the universe. Why don't we just reproduce, then exit fast, like salmon? Could aging just be one big evolutionary accident? Is senescence, the gradual falling apart of our bodies, at least partially avoidable? Can we extend the healthy lifespan and reduce the lingering, debilitating effects of senescence?
In this book, investigative health journalist Judy Foreman suggests that we actually can, and the key element is exercise, through its myriad effects on dozens of molecules in the brain, the muscles, and other organs. It's no secret, of course, that exercise is good for you and that exercise can extend longevity. What Foreman uncovers through extensive research into evolutionary biology, exercise physiology, and the new field of geroscience is exactly why exercise is so powerful - the mechanisms now being discovered that account for the vast and varied effects of exercise all over the body. Though Foreman also delves into pills designed to combat aging and so-called exercise "mimetics," or pills that purport to produce the effects of exercise without the sweat, her resounding conclusion is that exercise itself is by far the most effective, and safest, strategy for promoting a long, healthy life. In addition to providing a fascinating look at the science of exercise's effects on the body, Foreman also provides answers to the most commonly asked practical questions about exercise.
In this book, investigative health journalist Judy Foreman suggests that we actually can, and the key element is exercise, through its myriad effects on dozens of molecules in the brain, the muscles, and other organs. It's no secret, of course, that exercise is good for you and that exercise can extend longevity. What Foreman uncovers through extensive research into evolutionary biology, exercise physiology, and the new field of geroscience is exactly why exercise is so powerful - the mechanisms now being discovered that account for the vast and varied effects of exercise all over the body. Though Foreman also delves into pills designed to combat aging and so-called exercise "mimetics," or pills that purport to produce the effects of exercise without the sweat, her resounding conclusion is that exercise itself is by far the most effective, and safest, strategy for promoting a long, healthy life. In addition to providing a fascinating look at the science of exercise's effects on the body, Foreman also provides answers to the most commonly asked practical questions about exercise.
- GenresHealthNonfictionScience
375 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2019
52 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 5, 2020
There's a certain class of book that can be described as 'it should have been an article'. This is where there are only a few significant points to be made, which would make an interesting magazine article, but the whole thing becomes intensely tedious when dragged out to book length. (A lot of business books fit into this category.) I was distinctly worried that this would apply to Exercise is Medicine - yet despite, in a way, it being true, Judy Foreman manages to make the book one that's packed full of information and an interesting read - even to someone who hates sport and doesn't like medical books.
Let's get that main point out of the way - exercise is really good for you. Even a relatively small amount - say 150 minutes per week of brisk walking - will have a significant impact on your health and potentially increase your lifespan. It helps all round from blood pressure to mental state. That's the article part. But what Foreman does is take a whole collection of areas where exercise can have an impact, gives us some scientific background to that particular area and shows how exercise can help.
So, for example, we've got chapters on ageing, why sitting down too long at a time is bad for you (interestingly, she says standing desks make little difference, so don't feel smug, desk standers), strengthening your bones (sadly one of the few areas where there's no benefit if you're middle aged or older), your mood, your gut biology, immunity (yes) and inflammation and more. Along the way we're introduced to everything from how muscles work to the role of mitochondria and the working of the immune system. It's surprisingly (for me) interesting.
A few little moans. I found the example stories of individuals living to great ages or whatever just irritating rather than helpful. It was too reminiscent of those people who smoke 40 cigarettes a day and live to 95 - individual examples don't tell us anything about the statistical impact. I also thought that Foreman went over the top on the wonders of running (seemingly her thing) - not that it's a bad form of exercise, but she didn't mention the impact issues compared with fast walking, she perhaps underplayed some other forms of exercise, and the last thing the world needs is more runners, as they are the rudest people on the pavements (especially as this review was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, and runners seem to show less courtesy in moving away from other people than anyone else).
Exercise isn't a magic bullet. You can exercise at length and still die young. But there is no doubt that it has a really big statistical benefit - and this is a great book to encourage the reader to do more, while providing lots of scientific background.
Let's get that main point out of the way - exercise is really good for you. Even a relatively small amount - say 150 minutes per week of brisk walking - will have a significant impact on your health and potentially increase your lifespan. It helps all round from blood pressure to mental state. That's the article part. But what Foreman does is take a whole collection of areas where exercise can have an impact, gives us some scientific background to that particular area and shows how exercise can help.
So, for example, we've got chapters on ageing, why sitting down too long at a time is bad for you (interestingly, she says standing desks make little difference, so don't feel smug, desk standers), strengthening your bones (sadly one of the few areas where there's no benefit if you're middle aged or older), your mood, your gut biology, immunity (yes) and inflammation and more. Along the way we're introduced to everything from how muscles work to the role of mitochondria and the working of the immune system. It's surprisingly (for me) interesting.
A few little moans. I found the example stories of individuals living to great ages or whatever just irritating rather than helpful. It was too reminiscent of those people who smoke 40 cigarettes a day and live to 95 - individual examples don't tell us anything about the statistical impact. I also thought that Foreman went over the top on the wonders of running (seemingly her thing) - not that it's a bad form of exercise, but she didn't mention the impact issues compared with fast walking, she perhaps underplayed some other forms of exercise, and the last thing the world needs is more runners, as they are the rudest people on the pavements (especially as this review was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, and runners seem to show less courtesy in moving away from other people than anyone else).
Exercise isn't a magic bullet. You can exercise at length and still die young. But there is no doubt that it has a really big statistical benefit - and this is a great book to encourage the reader to do more, while providing lots of scientific background.
March 11, 2020
The best exercise motivator
August 26, 2021
My lunch break book! Chose to read this because i've been in my renaissance of movement and connecting w my body blah blah blah I will not bore you with my ~journey~. This was spurred by witnessing a traumatic medical incident of a loved one that scared me into rethinking my relationship to mobility.
The book was a little repetitive and it's like... we get the point! Exercise is good for you! however the percentages were often not that dramatic. If I were someone who didn't feel mentally and physically awful if I didn't move around I don't know if this book would convince me to move more lol. It was readable and she was good at making scientific concepts simple to understand, though there was occasional typos and words missing in sentences which made me wonder about the editor.
My fave factoids:
1) the study that was intended for seeing how the body could handle going into a stasis mode for space travel where they had healthy 20yos lay in bed for 3 weeks straight. They measured various health metrics before and after the three weeks and the results were abysmal. Then 40 years later they tracked the boys down and compared their 60 year old selves to their 20 year old selves. The damage from the 3 weeks of bed rest was more intense than the damage of 40 years of aging!
2)the study where one group had to follow a diet and lost weight while one group ate whatever, did not lose weight at all, but increased movement. The movement group scored better in all categories compared to the weight loss group. I wish our culture could separate movement from weight loss because the focus on weight is either a barrier for people or it's a fixation that imo takes away from the pure joy of moving.
I have been influenced by instagram into only really wanting to do weight training and things that will help my preferred activities like dancing/skating/pole. But this book made me rethink my anti-cardio stance. I have pretty average cardiovascular health but was never really caring about it, and this motivated me to improve. This book made me very very thankful that my parents both have consistent movement practices. As always the stories of 100 year old marathoners left me amazed at what the human body is capable of!
The book was a little repetitive and it's like... we get the point! Exercise is good for you! however the percentages were often not that dramatic. If I were someone who didn't feel mentally and physically awful if I didn't move around I don't know if this book would convince me to move more lol. It was readable and she was good at making scientific concepts simple to understand, though there was occasional typos and words missing in sentences which made me wonder about the editor.
My fave factoids:
1) the study that was intended for seeing how the body could handle going into a stasis mode for space travel where they had healthy 20yos lay in bed for 3 weeks straight. They measured various health metrics before and after the three weeks and the results were abysmal. Then 40 years later they tracked the boys down and compared their 60 year old selves to their 20 year old selves. The damage from the 3 weeks of bed rest was more intense than the damage of 40 years of aging!
2)the study where one group had to follow a diet and lost weight while one group ate whatever, did not lose weight at all, but increased movement. The movement group scored better in all categories compared to the weight loss group. I wish our culture could separate movement from weight loss because the focus on weight is either a barrier for people or it's a fixation that imo takes away from the pure joy of moving.
I have been influenced by instagram into only really wanting to do weight training and things that will help my preferred activities like dancing/skating/pole. But this book made me rethink my anti-cardio stance. I have pretty average cardiovascular health but was never really caring about it, and this motivated me to improve. This book made me very very thankful that my parents both have consistent movement practices. As always the stories of 100 year old marathoners left me amazed at what the human body is capable of!
July 22, 2020
This is a very detailed book on exercise, probably more than most of us really want to read. There are a lot of studies given on a variety of aspects of exercise. I did find the book motivating as a read some of the good things exercise does for us medically. I learned about High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which include a reference to One-Minute Workout by Gibala which gave more of how to do it.
This book does not give a recipe for how to do exercise--no workout plans. This is the medical science with the details of many studies to back up what is offered about the effects of exercise on the human body. It's hard to rate such a book which is not thrilling or moving, but I will say it is very thorough and solid with a great section of Q&A at end with tons of references and a good index.
This book does not give a recipe for how to do exercise--no workout plans. This is the medical science with the details of many studies to back up what is offered about the effects of exercise on the human body. It's hard to rate such a book which is not thrilling or moving, but I will say it is very thorough and solid with a great section of Q&A at end with tons of references and a good index.
March 25, 2020
Life altering and eye opening. Changed my lifestyle for the better permanently. Recommend for anyone that needs a boost to their workout regimen
August 18, 2021
I’d rate this a 4.5, and one I want to keep handy to motivate me to get up and moving when necessary. Started reading it back in May, but made mistake of putting it by my bed, and kept falling asleep during cognition chapter. It flows quite easily, and is pretty fascinating, but admittedly Netflix is more appealing to me before bed. Foreman’s writing is full of data, studies, and research, and though it *occasionally* reads like a text, it will certainly hold interest (as long as you don’t try to read it before bed).
The basic premise is this: exercise is good for you. Wanna reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s? Exercise. Wanna reduce your risk of cancer? Exercise. Reduce depression? You guessed it. Reduce risk of diabetes? Heart conditions? Dementia? Increase longevity? And so on and so on? Exercise, exercise, exercise. And yes, you could learn that from any magazine article, but the research she compiles and the way she lays the information out are far more conclusive, convincing and motivating. I especially appreciate how she delves into the types of exercise that provide the most benefits, and why.
Her chapter at the end on exercise pills as exercise mimetics was a plus, and more in depth than others I’ve read lately. Several authors recently have mentioned Silicon Valley’s quest to stop the aging process, as discussed in the books “Uncanny Valley” and “Sapiens.” Foreman gets into the details of it in a much more satisfying, enlightening way.
Definitely recommend to anyone.
The basic premise is this: exercise is good for you. Wanna reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s? Exercise. Wanna reduce your risk of cancer? Exercise. Reduce depression? You guessed it. Reduce risk of diabetes? Heart conditions? Dementia? Increase longevity? And so on and so on? Exercise, exercise, exercise. And yes, you could learn that from any magazine article, but the research she compiles and the way she lays the information out are far more conclusive, convincing and motivating. I especially appreciate how she delves into the types of exercise that provide the most benefits, and why.
Her chapter at the end on exercise pills as exercise mimetics was a plus, and more in depth than others I’ve read lately. Several authors recently have mentioned Silicon Valley’s quest to stop the aging process, as discussed in the books “Uncanny Valley” and “Sapiens.” Foreman gets into the details of it in a much more satisfying, enlightening way.
Definitely recommend to anyone.
January 15, 2022
I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot! It is packed full of information about all the health and mental health benefits of exercise outside of the usual weight loss conversation (although there is a bit of that too).
The book is very well researched, although I’ll be honest, I sometimes found my eyes glazing over as the author got super in the weeds about the bio-chemical processes happening in your body. All very interesting, I feel like I just didn’t fully understand some of it.
The author mentions that one consideration when studying the benefits of exercise is that people who exercise frequently tend to have higher incomes, and therefore the leisure time to maintain their exercise routine, cook healthy food etc. - and that income and lifestyle may be a factor in the health outcomes we are attributing to exercise in and of itself. I wish there had been more exploration of this, or more information on if any of the studies included in the book controlled for that (as I’m assuming they did?)
All of that to say I really enjoyed this! I tend to gravitate towards resistance training and I’ve never been one for cardio, but this book has really inspired me to do more of it and try to find joy within that lung burning feeling.
The book is very well researched, although I’ll be honest, I sometimes found my eyes glazing over as the author got super in the weeds about the bio-chemical processes happening in your body. All very interesting, I feel like I just didn’t fully understand some of it.
The author mentions that one consideration when studying the benefits of exercise is that people who exercise frequently tend to have higher incomes, and therefore the leisure time to maintain their exercise routine, cook healthy food etc. - and that income and lifestyle may be a factor in the health outcomes we are attributing to exercise in and of itself. I wish there had been more exploration of this, or more information on if any of the studies included in the book controlled for that (as I’m assuming they did?)
All of that to say I really enjoyed this! I tend to gravitate towards resistance training and I’ve never been one for cardio, but this book has really inspired me to do more of it and try to find joy within that lung burning feeling.
April 10, 2021
A very informative book that reinforces why we should all strive to reap the benefits that exercise brings us. The book goes into endless topics and examples of these benefits, and of course much of it is obvious. But it does open up insights as to the whys and hows which is beneficial.
There is very little here for those seeking advice on to what they should pursue in terms of specific workouts or regiments. The general emphasis is that just about anything can help, the main thing is to get off your butt and get moving. Aerobic type activities seem to be the better for most, but weight training and even stretching type activities can reap benefits. It is all here on just how it does it.
There is very little here for those seeking advice on to what they should pursue in terms of specific workouts or regiments. The general emphasis is that just about anything can help, the main thing is to get off your butt and get moving. Aerobic type activities seem to be the better for most, but weight training and even stretching type activities can reap benefits. It is all here on just how it does it.
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January 11, 2020
What a fun read! This book is meticulously researched and written in a fun, relatable way- totally accessible. At the end of this book I feel like I have a great understanding of how exercise helps the different systems of the body. This information is a great motivator to keep it up for a lifetime!
February 26, 2023
Read this for my EXSC Exercise Prescription class. I felt like it did a really good job of making chronic diseases more simple to understand. I bought it from the book store so I can keep reading it and learning.
July 24, 2025
I loved this book. It is exactly what I’m interested in and I learned so much. I love learning abt the molecular influences of exercise. If ppl read this they would take exercise more seriously as a treatment
February 8, 2021
Easy read...shows that it is imperative that to survive we need to keep moving...any form of exercise daily for mind and body.
April 5, 2021
2.5 stars. Maybe better suited for someone that can’t get enough of exercise science, but for me it draaaaaaaaaaagged on and on.
March 6, 2022
It was okay. Didn’t love it. A few chapters were helpful. I guess just not for me but hope others really like it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews