What is physical activity
Physical activity is moving the muscles of your skeletal system to produce any energy expenditure. There are 4 different areas of physical activity gym, recreational sports, every day activities and sport. By going to the gym, you can gain muscle and improve cardio, this is a great way if you are wanting to get stronger and are willing to go regularly and pay for a membership. Sport is a great way to enjoy physical activity and make friends by joining a football club or basketball club. Recreational sports are a good way to get out of the house and hang with some mates by playing sports for fun like kicking a ball or throwing a ball. Most importantly just participating in everyday activities like hoovering the house or sexual activity counts as physical activity.
The government take physical activity very seriously, that is why they recommend you participate in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercise. As well as this it is recommended that at least twice a week you participate in muscle strengthening activities. This is so companies like the NHS can focus their attention to other priorities rather than people who are overweight.
There are 3 types of physical activity benefits and they are, physical, social and emotional. Physically your body improves by taking part in physical activity. By doing this it strengthens bones, improves body shape and burns fat, boosts immune system, reduces risk of chronic disease, improves cardiovascular fitness, maintains flexibility, improves posture and lowers risk of heart disease. By doing physical activity it improves your social health by reducing isolation, reducing anxiety and improves your general social skill/confidence. Finally, it can increase your emotional health by improving concentration, improving sleep, boosting vitality and energy levels, relieving stress and libido. All of these can lead to a boost of confidence which really helps your overall mental health and gives you a better self-image.
A massive health risk due to not taking part in physical activity is obesity. Of course, it is not just about doing physical activity it is because of diet as well. However, obesity is caused by lack of movement in the skeletal muscles which means you never work your body to burn off the calories you intake. This means that your just intaking energy and not expending it by doing physical activity.
By being obese you can increase the risk of health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. High blood pressure is a very serious condition which puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. This can dramatically increase the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and dementia. The lower your blood pressure the lower you risk yourself of a heart attack. 120/80mmHg or lower is a good blood pressure, 140/90mmHg or higher is not so good, this is not dependent on age. Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. There are 2 types of diabetes. Type 1 is where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin. Cancer is a condition where cells in a specific part of the body grow and reproduce uncontrollably. There are more than 200 different types of cancer, and each is diagnosed and treated in a particular way. Being obese is clearly linked to certain types of cancers such as breast, colon and rectum, endometrium, oesophagus, kidney and pancreas. All of these diseases can be gained by obesity all of which can lead to death.
The government have created many campaigns on how health is risked by not doing physical activity. A big campaign was change4life where they inform you about healthier foods, recipes, activities and the benefits of eating healthier. Change4life was launched in January 2009 when obesity levels increased more and more every year. This was introduced to many schools and advertised regularly on the tv to get people to get active. The adverts were colourful and animated to appeal to children so they can understand the health risks by not taking part in physical activity or eating right. The government still runs the project as well as many other physical health organisations to get people to understand the benefits of physical activity. An important way to know if you are obese is to work out your BMI. You can do this by taking your height and weight and going online at the BMI healthy weight calculator to see if you are obese.
This overall summary of obesity in the UK was released in April 2018 by Carl Baker from the UK parliament.
Personally, I feel as though physical activity is not advertised enough. It is a very important factor and should be one of the UK’s top priorities. If people are not dying from obesity itself they are dying from the mental struggle of dealing with it. Most obese people are not motivated enough to join a gym or inspired enough to lose weight. I feel as though there should be more special offers to really help people who are overweight to lose weight. A big example of mine is that people in the obese category should get 5 personal training sessions for free. If they enjoy it and want to continue on their journey they can start to pay. By doing this I think people who are obese will feel inspired by having a new person who they can socially interact with at the same time as participating in physical activity. By doing this it can increase all benefits of physical activity and the government can focus on other health related issues.
Diet
Diet is a specific type of food which certain individuals eat in order to lose weight or gain weight to ensure they are being healthy. Most people know diet for the balanced diet diagram. This is where it shows us how a healthy diet should provide us with the right amount of energy by showing us what types of foods and drinks we should have a day to maintain energy balance. Energy balance is where the calories taken in from the diet are equal to the calories used by the body. We need these calories to carry out everyday tasks such as walking and moving about, but also for all the functions of the body we may not even think about. Processes like breathing, pumping blood around the body and thinking also require calories.
Foods and drinks provide the calories we need on a daily basis, but consuming more calories than we need over a period of time will cause weight gain. This is because, any extra calories we consume but we don’t use, will just be stored as fat. So if you don’t participate in exercise you are just gaining weight.
More than 50% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese. However there is a more worrying matter about childhood obesity, where 1 in 3 children aged 4-5, and 1 in 5 children aged 10-11, are overweight or obese. Being overweight as a child increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers in adulthood. So, maintaining a healthy weight is really important for health. Of course this can sometimes lead to bullying.
How much energy you need from foods and drinks depends on many different things, such as how active you are. It is also dependent on what sports you compete in
Eating only as many calories as you need will help to maintain a healthy weight. However, the foods and drinks you choose need to be the right ones, and in the right proportions to stay healthy. Having this balance in your diet can be achieved by following the Eatwell Guide.