Physical Fitness Activity

Physical fitness activity is essential to maintaining good health and reducing the rates of chronic disease. Providing opportunities for walking, biking, horseback riding, and other regular forms of exercise will benefit everyone.

People who avoid the behaviors that increase their risk for chronic diseases can expect to live healthier and longer lives. The merits of exercise from preventing chronic health conditions to boosting confidence and self-esteem are hard to ignore. And the benefits are yours for the taking, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.

Major benefits of mainstaining good health and physical activity:

• Reduces your risk of heart disease
• Helps control weight
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints
• Helps manage osteoporosis Enhances emotional and mental well-being
• Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling
• Helps you enjoy leisure time

The benefits of good health and physical activity are endless. Research also indicates that becoming physically active and maintaining a regular physical activity program significantly reduces the risk of some obesity and some cancers, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Physical activity can also lower blood cholesterol levels which then decrease the risk of developing CVD. Weight training, for example, develops muscular fitness (strength and muscular endurance) not cardiorespiratory endurance or joint range of motion (flexibility). A well-planned exercise program needs to include exercises that are specific to each physical fitness component and body part.

Good Nutrition

Good nutrition promotes not only better physical health and reduced susceptibility to disease, but has been demonstrated to contribute to cognitive and academic success. 

Eating recommended amounts from all the major food groups and a variety of nutritious foods from within each group to get enough of the many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients they need for good health. Most kids aren?t meeting food group recommendations for whole grains, fruits and vegetables, which contributes to a shortfall on fiber .