Physical activity can be defined as any movement of your body that uses energy. Thus, housework can be a physical activity - and can even be a great form of exercise if you really get into it.
Common types of physical activity include dancing, swimming, jogging, football and yoga. Every adult should engage in physical activity several times a week, with physical exercise that raises your heart rate being particularly beneficial for good health.
Physical activity is very important for your health and wellbeing. To illustrate this fact, we have listed 10 reasons why physical activity is extremely important.
1. Physical exercise is important for cardiac health
Because it gets your heart pumping, physical activity improves your cardiovascular health. It improves your heart’s stamina and also benefits your circulatory system. In this way, physical fitness reduces your risk of heart disease. By reducing your blood pressure, it also reduces your risk of suffering from angina and similar conditions.
2. Fitness is a powerful weapon against diabetes
Physical activity helps to curb the development of Type II diabetes. It also helps to stop Type II diabetes from developing in the first place. This is because exercise improve your blood’s sensitivity to insulin. Add a healthy diet into the mix and you have a winning combination.
3. Fighting cancer
Keeping fit has been shown to reduce your risk of certain cancers. For instance, by reducing the amount of estrogen in the female body, exercise reduces women’s risk of breast cancer.
4. Physical fitness boosts mental health
Exercising boosts your mood and stops you feeling sluggish and low. Studies have found that exercise reduces stress and anxiety (not least by reducing pent up energy) and helps you to feel energetic, powerful and independent.
5. Improving muscle tone
The more you engage in physical activity, the stronger and more toned your muscles will get. Getting stronger makes everyday activities such as carrying the groceries home or lifting heavy boxes much easier.
6. Exercise wards off obesity
You may have heard the phrase ‘obesity epidemic’. Obesity is associated with various lethal illnesses, including cancer and Type II diabetes. The more you exercise, though, the less likely you are to become obese.
7. Want to sleep better? Just exercise!
Having a regular exercise regime imporves your sleeping patterns. If you find that you go to bed filled with excess energy and unable to sleep, it may be the case that all that you need to do is exercise a little during the day. Be careful not to exercise too close to bedtime, though, as this can keep you awake.
8. Bone health
Improving your core strength through weight bearing exercise (such as weight lifting) helps your bones to stay strong and enables you to combat ailments such as osteoarthritis.
9. Memory and concentration
Exercising regularly has been shown to improve memory and concentration - and physical activity may even help to ward off dementia. So, whenever you work out, you are also improving your mental fitness. Crack open that cryptic crossword right after the gym and see how you fare!
10. Higher energy levels
You may feel tired right after a hard workout, but overall physical activity boosts your energy levels.
Written by: Lauras