Exercise and Health
Would you like to:
- Decrease your risk of disease?
- Feel better physically and mentally?
- Look better?
- Help avoid injuries?
- Keep doing activities you enjoy throughout your life?
Regular physical activity will help you do these things! Physical activity is essential to prevent and reduce risks of many diseases and improve physical and mental health. (CDC, 1996; Stear, 2003; Taylor, 1985.)
On the other hand, lack of physical activity is associated with increased risks of:
- Anxiety, stress, and feelings of depression
- Developing many preventable conditions, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, and obesity
- Dying prematurely
Lack of physical activity is a common risk factor for developing the non-communicable diseases that account for almost 60 percent of global deaths. (Blair, 1995; Mokdad, 2003; Haapanen-Niemi, 2000.)
