Physical activity consists of any type of body movement that results in the above energy expenditure of that considered standard when the body is at rest.
Physical activities are important to prevent the person from being sedentary, influencing the achievement of a good quality of life and health. Maintaining an adequate level of body movement helps to avoid potential heart problems and stroke.
Learn more about Sedentary lifestyle.
To avoid a sedentary lifestyle, the ideal is that the person has an average of 150 minutes of physical activity per week, that is, approximately 30 minutes of physical activity per day, 5 days a week.
Benefits of physical activity
There are several benefits of physical activity for people, mainly helping to strengthen muscles, joints and bones. In addition, it also provides an increase in body agility, flexibility, physical endurance and good cardiorespiratory conditioning.
According to experts on the subject, maintaining regular physical activity helps to improve the quality of life of the individual, such as sleep, mood, mental and physical disposition, nutrition, skin and hair appearance, virility, among others stuff.
Other benefits of physical activity that are worth mentioning are: improvement in blood circulation; strengthening the immune system; helps with weight loss and fat loss; increased metabolism; improve motor coordination; anxiety reduction; and improvement in self-esteem.
Difference between physical activity and physical exercise
Physical activity is characterized by any bodily movement made by skeletal muscles when they are above the resting level. Walking, sweeping the house, walking the dog, playing, etc. are considered physical activities.
Physical exercises, on the other hand, have a systematized movement sequence and that aim to work specific parts of the body more intensely. Weight training, crunches and sit-ups are some examples of specific physical exercises.