Benefits of exercise

Step right up! It's the miracle cure we've all been waiting for. It can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer by up to 50% and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%. Its free, easy to take, has an immediate effect and you dont need a G to !et some. Its name" #$ercise. %lick on the links below to find out if you&re doin! enou!h for your a!e' early childhood (under 5 years old) youn! people (5*+, years old) adults (+-*./ years old) older adults (.5 and o0er)

#$ercise is the miracle cure we0e always had, but for too lon! we0e ne!lected to take our recommended dose. 1ur health is now sufferin! as a conse2uence. 3his is no snake oil. 4hate0er your a!e, there&s stron! scientific e0idence that bein! physically acti0e can help you lead a healthier and e0en happier life. eople who do re!ular acti0ity ha0e a lower risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 5 diabetes, stroke and some cancers. 6esearch shows that physical acti0ity can also boost self*esteem, mood, sleep 2uality and ener!y, as well as reducin! your risk of stress, depression, dementia and 7l8heimers disease. 9If e$ercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost*effecti0e dru!s e0er in0ented,: says ;r <ick %a0ill, a health promotion consultant.

Health benefits
Gi0en the o0erwhelmin! e0idence, it seems ob0ious that we should all be physically acti0e. It&s essential if you want to li0e a healthy and fulfillin! life into old a!e.
=If e$ercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost*effecti0e dru!s e0er in0ented= ;r <ick %a0ill

It&s medically pro0en that people who do re!ular physical acti0ity ha0e' up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke up to a 50% lower risk of type 5 diabetes up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer up to a 50% lower risk of breast cancer

a 30% lower risk of early death up to an ,3% lower risk of osteoarthritis up to a .,% lower risk of hip fracture a 30% lower risk of falls (amon! older adults) up to a 30% lower risk of depression up to a 30% lower risk of dementia

What counts?
>oderate*intensity aerobic acti0ity means you&re workin! hard enou!h to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. 1ne way to tell if you&re workin! at a moderate intensity is if you can still talk but you can&t sin! the words to a son!. #$amples of moderate*intensity aerobic acti0ities are' walkin! fast water aerobics ridin! a bike on le0el !round or with few hills playin! doubles tennis pushin! a lawn mower

;aily chores such as shoppin!, cookin! or housework don&t count towards your +50 minutes. 3his is because the effort needed to do them isnt hard enou!h to !et your heart rate up.

A mo ern problem
eople are less acti0e nowadays, partly because technolo!y has made our li0es easier. 4e dri0e cars or take public transport. >achines wash our clothes. 4e entertain oursel0es in front of a 3? or computer screen. @ewer people are doin! manual work, and most of us ha0e jobs that in0ol0e little physical effort. 4ork, house chores, shoppin! and other necessary acti0ities are far less demandin! than for pre0ious !enerations. !ecommen e ph"sical activit" levels
%hildren under 5 should do +,0 minutes e0ery day Aoun! people (5*+,) should do .0 minutes e0ery day 7dults (+-*./) should do +50 minutes e0ery week 1lder adults (.5 and o0er) should do +50 minutes e0ery week

4e mo0e around less and burn off less ener!y than people used to. 6esearch su!!ests that many adults spend more than se0en hours a day sittin! down, at work, on transport or in their leisure time. eople a!ed o0er .5 spend +0 hours or more each day sittin! or lyin! down, makin! them the most sedentary a!e !roup.

Se entar" lifest"les
Inacti0ity is described by the ;epartment of Bealth as a 9silent killer:. #0idence is emer!in! that sedentary beha0iour, such as sittin! or lyin! down for lon! periods, is bad for your health. <ot only should you try to raise your acti0ity le0els, but you should also reduce the amount of time you and your family spend sittin! down.

%ommon e$amples of sedentary beha0iour include watchin! 3?, usin! a computer, usin! the car for short journeys and sittin! down to read, talk or listen to music C and such beha0iour is thou!ht to increase your risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as wei!ht !ain and obesity. 9 re0ious !enerations were acti0e more naturally throu!h work and manual labour, but today we ha0e to find ways of inte!ratin! acti0ity into our daily li0es,: says ;r %a0ill. 4hether it&s limitin! the time babies spend strapped in their bu!!ies, or encoura!in! adults to stand up and mo0e fre2uently, people of all a!es need to reduce their sedentary beha0iour. 93his means that each of us needs to think about increasin! the types of acti0ities that suit our lifestyle and can easily be included in our day,: says ;r %a0ill. %rucially, you can hit your weekly acti0ity tar!et but still be at risk of ill health if you spend the rest of the time sittin! or lyin! down. @or tips on buildin! physical acti0ity and e$ercise into your day, whate0er your a!e, read Get acti0e your way.
a!e last re0iewed' ++D0ED50+3 <e$t re0iew due' ++D0ED50+5