benefits of physical activity

 

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your 

health.

Everyone can benefit from physical activity—no matter their age, abilities, 

ethnicity, or body shape and size.

If you're not sure how to start or increase your level of physical activity because 

you're afraid of hurting yourself, there's good news: such as 

 Moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, is generally safe for most 

people. Read more about the benefits of improving your brain health, managing 

your weight, reducing disease, strengthening your bones and muscles, and 

improving your ability to do activities of daily living. If you haven't been physically 

active in a while, you may be wondering how to start over. Find more tips here to 

start being physically active for a healthy weight. Learn more about what works 

and how physical activity can improve your health.

Immediate benefits:

Some benefits of physical activity for brain health occur immediately after a 

session of moderate or vigorous physical activity. These benefits include better 

thinking or cognitive ability among children ages 6 to 13 and fewer short-term 

feelings of anxiety among adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your 

thinking, learning, and judgment skills strong as you age. It can also reduce your 

risk of depression and anxiety, as well as help you sleep better. Learn more 

about the immediate benefits of 

physical activity and Managing your weight: 

Are you looking to get to a healthy weight or maintain it? Diet and exercise are 

both critical to maintaining a healthy weight, losing excess weight, or keeping the 

weight off. You gain weight when you consume more calories through what you 

eat and drink than the calories you burn during physical activity. It's important to 

balance calories. The amount of physical activity we need to manage our weight 

varies greatly among people.

To maintain a healthy weight, aim to gradually work your way up to 150 minutes 

a week of moderate aerobic activity (for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a 

week). There is solid scientific evidence showing that physical activity can help 

us maintain our weight over time. But it is still unclear exactly how much physical 

activity is necessary to achieve this, as it varies greatly from person to person. 

You may need to do more than 150 minutes of moderate activity a week to 

maintain your weight.

To lose weight and keep it off, you will need to do a high amount of physical 

activity unless you also adjust your diet and reduce the calories you eat and 

drink. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight requires regular physical activity 

and a healthy eating plan. For more information on nutrition, physical activity, 

and weight loss, visit Balancing Calories.

To reduce risks to your health, Cardiovascular diseases: Heart disease and 

stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Following 

the recommendations and doing at least 150 minutes per week of moderate 

aerobic activity can reduce your risk of developing these diseases. You can 

reduce your risk even more by being more physically active. Regular physical 

activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.

Physical activity on a regular basis can lower your risk of developing type 2 

diabetes and metabolic syndrome. 

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of any of the following factors: 

having too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, 

high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People begin to see benefits even if they 

do less than the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Getting 

more physical activity seems to further reduce these risks.

Do you already have type 2 diabetes? 

Regular physical activity can help you control your blood sugar levels. To learn 

more, visit a post with Diabetes related. 

Some cancers: Being physically active reduces your risk of developing several 

of the most common cancers. Research shows that people who engage in 

higher amounts of physical activity have a lower risk of developing the 

following- 

1. cancers 2. 

Bladder 3. 

Breast 

4. the colon (both the proximal and distal parts)

5. Endometrium 

6. Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus

7. Kidney 

8. Lung 

9. Stomach cancer (cardia or non cardia adenocarcinoma) Improves your quality 

of life. 

If you're a cancer survivor, research shows that getting regular physical activity 

not only helps improve your quality of life, it also improves your fitness. It 

improves bone and muscle strength: As you age, it's important to protect your 

bones, joints, and muscles as they support your body and help you move. 

Keeping your bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you'll be 

able to do your daily activities and stay physically active. Aerobic physical activity 

at a moderate intensity level to strengthen your muscles and bones can help 

slow the loss of bone density that occurs with age.

Hip fractures are a serious health condition that can have negative effects on a 

person's life, especially if you are an older adult. People who are physically 

active have a lower risk of having a hip fracture than people who are not active.

Among older adults, physical activity also reduces the risk of falls and injuries 

from falls. Physical activity programs that include more than one type of physical 

activity are the most successful in reducing falls and fall injuries. Among the 

different types of physical activity are aerobic, balance, and muscle 

strengthening. Also, weight-bearing activities like running, brisk walking, jumping 

jacks, and weight lifting put pressure on your bones. These are activities that can 

help promote bone growth and strength and reduce the risk of falls, injuries, and 

fractures due to falls.

Regular physical activity helps with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions that 

affect the joints. Doing 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly, to the 

extent possible, in addition to muscle-strengthening activities, improves your 

ability to manage pain and do activities of daily living. It also improves your 

quality of life.

Build Strong and Healthy Muscles:

Muscle-building activities, such as weight lifting, can help you increase or 

maintain your muscle mass and strength. This is important for older adults 

whose muscle mass and strength decline as they age. Gradually increasing the 

amount of weight and repetitions you do as part of your muscle-strengthening 

activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age. Improve your 

ability to do daily activities and prevent falls: A functional limitation is a loss in 

the ability to do activities of daily living, such as climbing stairs, shopping, or 

playing with grandchildren.

How is this related to physical activity? If you are a middle-aged or older adult 

who is physically active, you have a lower risk of functional limitations than 

inactive people.

Improve your physical functioning and reduce your risk of falls: For older 

adults, multi-component physical activity is important to improve their physical 

functioning and reduce their risk of falls and injury due to falls. Multi-component 

physical activity refers to physical activity that includes more than one type of 

physical activity—such as aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance. 

Multi-component physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting 

as part of a structured program. Increase your chances of living a longer life:

Science shows that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from 

leading causes of death like heart disease and some cancers.

Few lifestyle choices impact our health as much as physical activity. People who 

are physically active for about 150 minutes a week have a 33% lower risk of 

mortality from any cause than those who are not physically active. You don't 

have to do high amounts of physical activity or do intense physical activity to 

reduce your risk of premature death. The benefits begin to accrue with any 

amount of moderate or vigorous physical activity.

Regular exercise every day will keep you mentally healthy. Your daily companion 

to be well is our wish at Family Health Care.