For years, it's been known that regular daily exercise is one of the most important activities that people can engage in to promote good health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are trying to help people follow through with exercise prescriptions written by their physicians. A new program, in conjunction with the Arthritis Foundation, called the Arthritis Pain Reliever will include public service announcements, posters, and brochures which encourage people to engage in exercise. Whether it's swimming, biking, or walking, all of these can help people with arthritis decrease their symptoms.

A number of published studies have provided important insight into the role of exercise...

A recent study indicated that exercise can help increase the efficiency of insulin and that inactivity leads to more sugar in the blood stream, potentially setting up a person for diabetes.

Researchers also demonstrated that women who exercised before breakfast and then ate burned 20 per cent more calories than if they rested before eating.

To go along with that study, another study showed that caffeine may help produce better exercise tolerance by reducing the amount of pain due to muscle strain.

Finally, another study demonstrated that the ability to sustain aerobic exercise may be genetic but can be improved. Low aerobic capacity strongly predicts the eventual development of cardiovascular problems. Genes may impair the energy generating ability of cells. These results stress the need to maintain regular exercise to increase aerobic capacity.

All of these findings... and your doctor can't be wrong. It's important to get into the habit of exercise. Make it so it's like brushing your teeth!

Dr. Wei (pronounced "way") is a board-certified rheumatologist and Clinical Director of the nationally respected Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and has served as a consultant to the Arthritis Branch of the National Institutes of Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and the American College of Physicians. For more information on arthritis and related conditions, go to: http://www.arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com