- Heart disease
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Metabolic syndrome (see box)
- Colon cancer
- Breast cancer
- Falls
- Depression
Regular activity can help you reach and stay at a healthy weight. It can also improve your cardiorespiratory (heart, lungs, and blood vessels) and muscular fitness. For older adults, activity can improve mental function. It’s never too late to begin physical activity. If you haven’t been active for a while, though, check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. Physical activity may also help:
- Improve functional health for older adults (your health-related quality of life)
- Reduce waistline size
- Lower risk of hip fracture
- Lower risk of lung cancer
- Lower risk of endometrial cancer
- Keep a healthy weight
- Increase bone density, which can lower your risk of bone loss
- Improve sleep quality So what do you need to do to be active? Health benefits are gained by doing the following each week:
- 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity
- 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
- A combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
- Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days (like working out with hand weights) You can gain even more benefits by boosting activity to 5 hours of moderate-intensity or 2 hours and 30 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week.
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