Rush is Wrong About Exercise!

It seems as though Rush Limbaugh’s battle of the bulge has created some pretty imaginative scapegoating.

A couple of weeks ago, Limbaugh came out and said that thanks to “exercise freaks” our health care system is stressed. He cited that those that exercise and involved in activities such as soccer, baseball, mountain bike, running, etc. are responsible for the stress our health care system is experiencing due to chronic injuries.

Back in 2007, Limbaugh, stated that you can lose weight without exercise, (duh, starve yourself), then he followed it up with, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not condemning exercise, it’s good for you and all that in a whole lot of other areas, but you don’t need exercise to lose weight.” Brilliant insight. But here’s where it gets interesting, during his radio show while bemoaning exercise he says, ” I’ve lost 90 pounds three times (without taking a step beyond normal steps I take in a day). I’ve lost 40 pounds four times.”

What Limbaugh doesn’t say, perhaps because the truth would mean he’d actually HAVE to consider exercise, is this, exercise serves to MAINTAIN a healthy weight. Therefore, had he been exercising all along, he probably would have kept his weight off. Additionally, exercise prevents injury, not promotes injury! Perhaps some insight from mayoclinic.com may help educate Mr. Limbaugh on the value of exercise.

FACT: Regular exercise can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular exercise boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol while decreasing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol. Exercise keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries. Regular exercise can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

FACT: Exercise strengthen your heart and lungs. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

FACT: Exercise manages weight. When you exercise, you burn calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don’t even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Hmm, doesn’t sound so “freakish” to me.

FACT: A brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down. Exercise improves your mood. Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You’ll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Exercise even reduces feelings of depression and anxiety. Perhaps regular exercise can prevent drug addiction as well, eh?

FACT: When the musculoskeletal system is not active, people experience a drop in muscular strength which means day to day activities are compromised along with the quality of life. Without the use of weight-bearing activity, calcium that gives bones strength and density may gradually diminish. Without exercise, bones can become “spongy” and be at greater risk of fractures. Unused muscles atrophy(get smaller) and lose the ability to function normally. When muscle fibers are inactive, joint mobility is limited and may need to be surgically reversed. Joint pain and stiffness is a direct result of inactivity as connective tissues at the joint become immobile. So just who and what is stressing our health care system?

There is no doubt that you can lose weight without exercise, it is simply a matter of less calories in, more calories out. I guess if you just want to lose weight, and health is irrelevant, Limbaugh’s approach might work. You can be thin, you’ll just be too weak to engage in daily life. People that are active on a regular basis, we’re not talking athletes here, we’re talking about those who use exercise to maintain a healthy body and mind, are not chronically injured. You want to talk about what stresses the health care system? Read this and weep, it’s not because of “exercise freaks”, it’s because of inactivity and poor nutrition.

According to the CDC: “Overweight and obesity and their associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system (USDHHS, 2001). Medical costs associated with overweight and obesity may involve direct and indirect costs (Wolf and Colditz, 1998; Wolf, 1998). Direct medical costs may include preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to obesity. Indirect costs relate to morbidity and mortality costs. Morbidity costs are defined as the value of income lost from decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, and bed days. Mortality costs are the value of future income lost by premature death.

According to a journal review by Neil Oldridge, from University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin Cardiology Fellow Research:

“The data on physical inactivity presented in this review were derived primarily from World Health Organization (WHO) publications and data warehouses. The prevalence of physical inactivity at less than the levels recommended for enhancing health is high; from 17 to 91% in developing countries and from 4 to 84% in developed countries. In developed countries, physical inactivity is associated with considerable economic burden, with 1.5-3.0% of total direct healthcare costs being accounted for by physical inactivity. The WHO has signaled a shift from the treatment of illness to promotion of health, with an emphasis on changing modifiable health-risk factors, including smoking, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity: The real question, especially for developing countries, is ‘what is the future healthcare cost of not encouraging healthier lifestyles today?”

I don’t listen to this man’s show, never have. Someone passed this particular clip on to me and I’m glad they did. He is sending out inaccurate information and perhaps risking the health of his listeners. Although I won’t dispute the fact that someone can lose weight without exercise, the fact is that exercise not only helps maintain a healthy weight, exercise keeps people out of hospitals, obesity puts them in hospitals. When someone that has struggled with obesity for their whole life comes out and tells people that those that exercise are freaks and taxing our health care system, well, I think this individual needs to take a look in the mirror and redefine “freak.”

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