Physical activity helps people live longer and healthier lives. It can manage chronic health conditions like osteoarthritis and high blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, reduce depression and anxiety, and support mental wellness.
Physical fitness includes cardiovascular endurance (your VO2 max), muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. It’s recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity throughout the week.
What is a healthy lifestyle?
A healthy lifestyle includes eating nutritious foods, being physically active, balancing work and family life, getting adequate rest, and focusing on mental health. It’s also about avoiding risk factors like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and taking steps to prevent disease.
When it comes to eating a healthy diet, focus on incorporating more whole grains and decreasing refined sugars and unhealthy fats. Try cooking nutrient-rich meals at home, or make simple swaps, like replacing your morning toast with a slice of whole wheat bread.
To get started, identify your personal health goals and create SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based) action plans. Remember that it takes time to change your habits, so be patient and practice small improvements each day! There are many benefits to a healthy lifestyle, from feeling more confident in the kitchen to saving money. Keep these benefits in mind to help motivate you to stick with your new healthier habits!
Physical fitness
Physical fitness is the condition of a person’s body and mind that results from regular exercise. It is achieved by the proper balance of diet and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and helps reduce health risks like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and several cancers.
It increases your lean muscle and bone density and boosts your immune system. It also improves your flexibility, balance, and strength, which decreases your risk of injury—especially as you age.
No magic formula translates hours of exercise into hours of life added, but research shows that people who regularly exercise tend to live longer than those who don’t. Besides improving your overall well-being, regular physical activity prevents diseases and promotes healthy sleep and energy levels. It can even help you lose weight and maintain a healthy BMI. It also reduces the risk of dementia, depression, and anxiety.
Mental health
Mental health is a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how they perceive the world, think and behave, and their ability to deal with stress, interact with others, and make decisions.
Having good mental health is as important as having a healthy lifestyle. It helps you cope with life’s stresses and enjoy a sense of peace, self-worth, and fulfillment. It also impacts your relationships and work performance.
If you have a mental (behavioral) health disorder, you may need therapy or medicines to manage it. It can be difficult to tell when a mood or thinking problem is serious enough to need professional help, but it is vital to get a diagnosis and treatment.
A person’s mental health is determined by many factors, including life experiences, lifestyle, and genes. Research suggests that a combination of these contributes to whether someone develops a mental illness. The lifestyle factors that influence mental health include sleep, nutrition, exercise, and social connections.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the process of eating food to get the nutrients you need for healthy living. Eating healthy foods in the right amounts provides energy for your daily activities, helps maintain a healthy body weight, and can help lower your risk for certain diseases.
ACSM is a professional membership organization that certifies fitness professionals and publishes evidence-based position stands on key health and fitness topics. The group also has a scholarly journal with leading research in the field of exercise science and sports medicine.
ACE is a nonprofit organization that offers exercise and wellness coach certifications and partnerships with community groups to make physical activity more accessible to all. The organization also publishes scholarly journals and books.
