Physical Activity and Health Promotion – Physical activity refers to all movement, including sports, cycling, wheeling, walking, active recreation and play. It can be done at any level of skill and for enjoyment by everybody. Regular physical activity helps prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and breast and colon cancer.
- It also helps prevent hypertension, overweight and obesity and can improve mental health, quality of life and well-being.
- Yet, much of the world is becoming less active.
- As countries develop economically, levels of inactivity increase.
- In some countries, these levels can be as high as 70%, due to changing transport patterns, increased use of technology, cultural values and urbanization.
Working in partnerships, WHO supports countries to implement a whole-of-community approach to increase levels of physical activity in people of all ages and abilities. Global, regional and national coordination and capacity will be strengthened to respond to needs for technical support, innovation and guidance.
WHO Physical Activity
Why is physical fitness important in sports?
This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. • Physical fitness leads to better athletic performance, and persistent training will usually develop physical fitness.
Detailed analyses of the anatomic and physiological characteristics of famous athletes show that it is possible to make fairly reliable predictions of athletic performance. Scores obtained by various static and dynamic tests exhibit various degrees of correlation with the scores made in competition, and it has been easy to pick out the tests that give the highest coefficients of correlation.
Dynamic tests thus are shown to have higher predictive value than static tests. Type of physique, strength and power, respiratory efficiency, and cardiovascular components are among the factors that determine performance, but no two, or three, or four factors, even when combined in an optimum manner, measure all aspects of fitness.
How do sports make you stronger?
#6 Muscle training. – Sports are the best way to have a proper muscle workout. It is fun to play and does not feel like a chore. At the same time, they give you strong and toned muscles, This is only possible if you continue to play active sports like soccer, football, tennis, and baseball regularly.
By engaging in sports you tone your muscles and train them for working together. It is known as neuromuscular programming. As you play your muscles become stronger and stronger. By playing sports you gain lean muscle mass and burn fat at the same time. If you want a perfectly lean body with shredded six-packs and muscles, this field might prove to be more helpful than the gym.
The Power of Nutrition | Luke Corey, RD, LDN | UCLAMDChat
For gaining such muscles you must prefer sports that involve the movement of most of your muscle groups. The physique of top athletes is an inspiration for all of us.
What is the purpose of sport?
Katie Howard, High School Writer – Palo Alto Medical Foundation Playing sports helps you stay in shape, teaches you how to organize your time, boosts friendships, and builds relationships with your peers and adults. Through athletics, you gain skills that can best be acquired on a court, track, or field.
How is a healthy lifestyle?
Steps you can take: –
Be physically active for 30 minutes most days of the week. Break this up into three 10-minute sessions when pressed for time. Healthy movement may include walking, sports, dancing, yoga or running. Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Choose a diet that’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in sugar, salt and total fat. Avoid injury by wearing seatbelts and bike helmets, using smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home, and using street smarts when walking alone. If you own a gun, recognize the dangers of having a gun in your home. Use safety precautions at all times. Don’t smoke, and quit if you do. Ask your health care provider for help. UCSF offers a smoking cessation program, If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Never drink before or when driving, or when pregnant, Ask someone you trust for help if you think you might be addicted to drugs or alcohol. Help prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS by using condoms every time you have sexual contact. Keep in mind, condoms are not 100 percent foolproof, so discuss STI screening with your provider. Birth control methods other than condoms, such as pills and implants, won’t protect you from STIs or HIV. Brush your teeth after meals with a soft or medium bristled toothbrush. Also brush after drinking, before going to bed. Use dental floss daily. Stay out of the sun, especially between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun’s harmful rays are strongest. Don’t think you are safe if it is cloudy or if you are in the water, as harmful rays pass through both. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen that guards against both UVA and UVB rays, with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Select sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of the sun’s rays.
How does exercise reduce stress?
Exercise and stress relief – Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits.
- It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner’s high, any aerobic activity, such as a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike, can contribute to this same feeling.
- It reduces negative effects of stress. Exercise can provide stress relief for your body while imitating effects of stress, such as the flight or fight response, and helping your body and its systems practice working together through those effects. This can also lead to positive effects in your body — including your cardiovascular, digestive and immune systems — by helping protect your body from harmful effects of stress.
- It’s meditation in motion. After a fast-paced game of racquetball, a long walk or run, or several laps in the pool, you may often find that you’ve forgotten the day’s irritations and concentrated only on your body’s movements. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you stay calm, clear and focused in everything you do.
- It improves your mood. Regular exercise can increase self-confidence, improve your mood, help you relax, and lower symptoms of mild depression and anxiety. Exercise can also improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety. All of these exercise benefits can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.
How much exercise do we need?
Move More; Sit Less Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. Each week adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activity, according to the current, We know 150 minutes of physical activity each week sounds like a lot, but you don’t have to do it all at once.
- It could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
- You can spread your activity out during the week and break it up into smaller chunks of time. See,
- Physical activity supports physical and mental health.
- The make it one of the most important things you can do for your health.
- Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day.
Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity gain some health benefits. Adults should follow the exercises as specified in the following options. Check out this for a quick snapshot of the recommended amount of weekly activity for adults.
- Moderate-intensity aerobic activity
- (such as brisk walking) for 150 minutes every week (for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
- AND
Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
- (such as jogging or running) for 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) every week
- AND
Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
- on 2 or more days a week
- AND
Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). If you go beyond 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity or an equivalent combination, you’ll gain even more health benefits.
Aerobic activity or “cardio” gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster. From pushing a lawn mower, to taking a dance class, to walking or biking to the store – these types of activities and more count. As long as you’re doing aerobic physical activities at a moderate- or vigorous-intensity, they count toward meeting the aerobic guideline.
Intensity is how hard your body is working during a physical activity. Moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity means you’re working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell if it’s a moderate-intensity aerobic activity is that you’ll be able to talk, but not sing the words to your favorite song.
- Walking fast
- Doing water aerobics
- Riding a bike on level ground or with few hills
- Playing doubles tennis
- Pushing a lawn mower
Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity means you’re breathing hard and fast, and your has gone up quite a bit. You may use the Talk Test to gauge the intensity of your aerobic physical activity. If you’re being active at a vigorous level, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Here are some examples of activities that require vigorous effort:
- Jogging or running
- Swimming laps
- Riding a bike fast or on hills
- Playing singles tennis
- Playing basketball
If you are doing moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking or hiking, you can talk, but not sing during the activity. Build Up Over Time If you want to do more vigorous-level activities, slowly replace those that take moderate effort like brisk walking with more vigorous activities like jogging.
Learn more about with physical activity to improve health. You can do moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or a mix of the two, each week. A rule of thumb is that 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity is about the same as 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity. Some people like to do vigorous activity because it gives them about the same health benefits in half the time.
If you haven’t been very active lately, however, increase your physical activity level slowly. If you have a history of a chronic disease, consider telling your doctor you are planning to increase your physical activity, including moving to more vigorous activity.
- You need to feel comfortable doing moderate-intensity activities before you move on to more vigorous ones.
- Learn more about additional that are right for you.
- Want more tips on how you can add a variety of activities to your life?,
- Physical activities to strengthen your muscles are recommended at least 2 days a week.
Activities should work all the major muscle groups of your body—legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms. Muscle-strengthening activities should be done in addition to your aerobic activity. To gain health benefits, you need to do muscle-strengthening activities to the point where it’s hard for you to do another repetition without help.
- A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing a sit-up.
- Try to do 8-12 repetitions per activity, which counts as 1 set,
- Try to do at least 1 set of muscle-strengthening activities.
- To gain even more benefits, do 2 or 3 sets.
- You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same or different days that you do aerobic activity—whatever works best for you.
There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether it’s at home or the gym. You may want to try the following:
- Lifting weights
- Working with resistance bands
- Doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance (e.g., push-ups, sit-ups)
- Heavy gardening (e.g., digging, shoveling)
- Some forms of yoga
Why is exercise good for your health essay?
Answer 1: Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases. When you exercise daily, you lower the risk of developing some diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and more. It also helps to keep your body at a healthy weight.