Importance of Exercise

Health Implications of Physical Activity

Exercise is an important health behaviour and the benefits are widely known. The positive effects on mind and body are well acknowledge by many, therefore it is astounding that the majority of the adult population are either sedentary or exercise with a frequency, duration and intensity too low to derive any of these positive health advantages. In fact, 7 / 10 men and 8 / 10 women fall below their age appropriate activity level necessary to achieve a health benefit. The following information is not meant to shock you into adopting a more physically active lifestyle, but help you to understand the benefits you can achieve. By having increased knowledge and greater understanding of the benefits of exercise and the potential negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle, people are more likely to develop an internal motivation to become active rather than feel pressurised to do so.

Benefits

There are many benefits of partaking in regular physical activity for the body and mind. Evidence consistently shows that exercise is associated with increased well being, mood, self esteem, and improved body image. It also shows decreases in stress, anxiety and depression. Regular physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight or obesity, diabetes, and strokes.
Generally a more physically active lifestyle is associated with an improved health profile both physiologically and psychologically.

Recommended Amounts

The Government’s Chief Medical Officer recommends the following levels of activity for good health:

“For general health benefit, adults should achieve a total of at least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity on 5 or more days of the week.

Bear in mind that the recommendations talk about physical activity and not exercise per se. With the health domain, there is clear differentiation between the two. Physical activity refers to daily activities which require physical effort such as gardening, cleaning the car, walking to work, climbing the stairs. So when they suggest 30 minutes a day, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to run for half an hour, you could spend the time weeding the garden instead.

Also it is interesting to note that they suggest a total of 30 minutes. This means that you don’t have to do all your activity continuously, you could break it up in smaller amounts. Say for example you chose to walk each day, you could do 10 minutes in the morning before work, 10 during your lunch break and 10 when you get home. Breaking it up into smaller times makes the whole thing seem more manageable. One of the greatest reasons people give for not doing enough activity is time. By doing it bit by bit it helps to remove the barrier of time.

Lifestyle Change

More than ever, people are beginning to realise that being healthy is more and more about the lifestyle choices we make. By incorporating physical activity into our daily lifestyles we can become healthier. Simple choices in our day to day lives can make a difference. For example, choosing to climb the stairs rather than take the escalator or the lift, walking or cycling to work instead of using the car even for just one day of the week, getting of the bus one stop early to walk that extra bit further. These are only small changes but choices that you might never thought twice about doing. The difference to you might seem minimal but it can make all a big difference to amounts of daily physical activity.

Sedentary lifestyles increases the risk of:

• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Overweight/obesity
• Diabetes
• Stroke

Recommendations:

At least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity on 5 or more days of the week.