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Adolescents and Young Adults
Key Messages
- Adolescents and young adults, both male and female,
benefit from physical activity.
- Physical activity need not be strenuous to be
beneficial.
- Moderate amounts of daily physical activity are
recommended for people of all ages. This amount can be obtained in longer sessions of
moderately intense activities, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes, or in shorter
sessions of more intense activities, such as jogging or playing basketball for 15-20
minutes.
- Greater amounts of physical activity are even more
beneficial, up to a point. Excessive amounts of physical activity can lead to injuries,
menstrual abnormalities, and bone weakening.
Benefits of Physical
Activity
- Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and
joints.
- Helps control weight, build lean muscle, and reduce
fat.
- Prevents or delays the development of high blood
pressure and helps reduce blood pressure in some adolescents with hypertension.
What Communities Can Do?
- Provide quality, preferably daily, physical education
classes and hire physical education specialists to teach them.
- Create opportunities for physical activities that are
enjoyable, that promote adolescents' and young adults' confidence in their ability to be
physically active, and that involve friends, peers, and parents.
- Provide appropriate physically active role models for
youths.
- Provide access to school buildings and community
facilities that enable safe participation in physical activity.
- Provide a range of extracurricular programs in schools
and community recreation centers to meet the needs and interests of specific adolescent
and young adult populations, such as racial and ethnic minority groups, females, persons
with disabilities, and low-income groups.
- Encourage health care providers to talk routinely to
adolescents and young adults about the importance of incorporating physical activity into
their lives.
Adults
Key
Messages
Physical activity need not be
strenuous to achieve health benefits.
Men and women of all ages benefit from
a moderate amount of daily physical activity. The same moderate amount of activity can be
obtained in longer sessions of moderately intense activities (such as 30 minutes of brisk
walking) as in shorter sessions of more strenuous activities (such as 15-20 minutes of
jogging).
Additional health benefits can be
gained through greater amounts of physical activity. Adults who maintain a regular routine
of physical activity that is of longer duration or of greater intensity are likely to
derive greater benefit. However, because risk of injury also increases with greater
amounts of activity, care should be taken to avoid excessive amounts.
Previously sedentary people who begin
physical activity programs should start with short sessions (5-10 minutes) of physical
activity and gradually build up to the desired level of activity.
Adults with chronic health problems, such as
heart disease, diabetes, or obesity, or who are at high risk for these conditions should
first consult a physician before beginning a new program of physical activity. Men over
age 40 and women over age 50 who plan to begin a new program of vigorous
activity should consult a physician to be sure they do not have heart disease or other
health problems.
Benefits
of Physical Activity
Reduces the risk of dying from
coronary heart disease and of developing high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.
Can help reduce blood pressure in some
people with hypertension.
Helps maintain healthy bones, muscles,
and joints.
Reduces symptoms of anxiety and
depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
Helps control weight, develop lean
muscle, and reduce body fat.
What
Communities Can Do?
Provide environmental inducements to
physical activity, such as safe, accessible, and attractive trails for walking and
bicycling, and sidewalks with curb cuts.
Open schools for community recreation,
form neighborhood watch groups to increase safety, and encourage malls and other indoor or
protected locations to provide safe places for walking in any weather.
Provide community-based programs to
meet the needs of specific populations, such as racial and ethnic minority groups, women,
older adults, persons with disabilities, and low-income groups.
Encourage health care providers to
talk routinely to their patients about incorporating physical activity into their lives.
Encourage employers to provide
supportive worksite environments and policies that offer opportunities for employees to
incorporate moderate physical activity into their daily lives.
Older Adults
Key Messages
- Older adults, both male and female, can benefit from
regular physical activity.
- Physical activity need not be strenuous to achieve
health benefits.
- Older adults can obtain significant health benefits
with a moderate amount of physical activity, preferably daily. A moderate amount of
activity can be obtained in longer sessions of moderately intense activities (such as
walking) or in shorter sessions of more vigorous activities (such as fast walking or
stairwalking).
- Additional health benefits can be gained through
greater amounts of physical activity, either by increasing the duration, intensity, or
frequency. Because risk of injury increases at high levels of physical activity, care
should be taken not to engage in excessive amounts of activity.
- Previously sedentary older adults who begin physical
activity programs should start with short intervals of moderate physical activity (5-10
minutes) and gradually build up to the desired amount.
- Older adults should consult with a physician before
beginning a new physical activity program.
- In addition to cardiorespiratory endurance (aerobic)
activity, older adults can benefit from muscle-strengthening activities. Stronger muscles
help reduce the risk of falling and improve the ability to perform the routine tasks of
daily life.
Benefits of Physical
Activity
- Helps maintain the ability to live independently and
reduces the risk of falling and fracturing bones.
- Reduces the risk of dying from coronary heart disease
and of developing high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.
- Can help reduce blood pressure in some people with
hypertension.
- Helps people with chronic, disabling conditions
improve their stamina and muscle strength.
- Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters
improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
- Helps maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
- Helps control joint swelling and pain associated with
arthritis.
What Communities Can Do?
- Provide community-based physical activity programs
that offer aerobic, strengthening, and flexibility components specifically designed for
older adults.
- Encourage malls and other indoor or protected
locations to provide safe places for walking in any weather.
- Ensure that facilities for physical activity
accommodate and encourage participation by older adults.
- Provide transportation for older adults to parks or
facilities that provide physical activity programs.
- Encourage health care providers to talk routinely to
their older adult patients about incorporating physical activity into their lives.
- Plan community activities that include opportunities
for older adults to be physically active. more
info..
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