Swimming, even slower than Léon, is good for your health

2024-09-06 04:00:11

Léon Marchand, during the unveiling of the men of the Olympic Games, at the Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre, August 4, 2024. MAKO DJIRICA/REUTERS

A thousand steps and more. The actions of Léon Marchand, the enthusiasm during the events of the Paralympic Games, which take place until September 8, and the enthusiasm that follows them are enough to make you want to lift or return to swimming. So it is better because this sport also has many health benefits, either for prevention or for people with chronic diseases, as we have indicated. Vidal of sport, or Médicosport-Santémedical dictionary of sports regulations, approved by the medical committee of the French National Olympic Committee and the Sports Council and the French Association of Sports and Sports Medicine.

Swimming is often promoted as a “healthy sport”. “The positive effect of swimming on the participants’ health is great”assures Latif Diouane, head of the health service within the French Swimming Federation (FFN), which has 400,000 members, of which 77,000 compete, and 252,510 are under the age of 18. A specific feature is that it is an activity that wears, which you exercise in a weight-bearing position in the water environment, so without impacting the bones and joints. An asset especially for overweight or obese people.

The effects of swimming on blood circulation and cardiovascular health are clear. It reduces cardiovascular risk factors, by improving lipid profile and glycemic control, and by reducing high blood pressure. And among those coronary patients, it promotes heart recovery during exercise, reduces resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, reduces fatigue during exercise, etc., specified Vidal du sport.

There are no contraindications

A large study, published in 2017 in British Journal of Sports Medicineshowed that swimmers had a 28% lower risk of premature death and a 41% lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke. The study compared the effects of six sports in a group of 80,000 British people who were fifty years old.

Swimming also helps to increase the oxygen capacity, especially for asthmatic children, if the water pools are not excessively chlorinated or loaded with pollutants which can irritate the respiratory system of young patients.

Exercising in water can reduce pain and muscle stiffness in people with joint disorders and disorders such as stroke or cerebral palsy. Swimming also affects the quality of life, cognitive abilities, prevents anxiety and cognitive disorders, which makes it a partner for mental health.