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Physical Activity is any movement of your body that uses energy.
Walking, dancing, playing sports are some good activities for you to
become active. Applying the FITT principle such as
frequency, intensity, types, and time can improve your
performance.
Moderate Physical Activity
This includes brisk walking, dancing, biking, swimming, and jogging. Some
household chores may also be considered as moderate activities.
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VIGOROUS Physical Activity
These are activities that make your heart pump faster than moderate activities and
release more sweat, such as sports involving excessive running like playing soccer or
even swimming, and jogging.
Direction: Study the different activities and tell whether each of the following
activities is moderate or vigorous. Kindly check the corresponding column as to
moderate or vigorous.
Physical Activity Moderate Vigorous
aerobic dancing
biking
dancing
jogging
playing basketball
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What is It
Figure 1 The Filipino Pyramid Activity Guide was developed by the
Philippine Association for the study of Obesity and Overweight (2000)
to encourage Filipinos to become more active.
No one wants to become sick, that is why an effective strategy to become
healthy is to move more. In 2008, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI)
reported that 86% of Filipino high schools in Manila failed to achieve the
recommended physical activity. Same study from WHO says majority of adolescents
worldwide are not sufficiently physically active and putting their current and future
health at risk. In the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
journal and produced by researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO),
found that more than 80% of school going adolescents globally did not meet current
recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day- including 85% of
girls and 78 % of boys.
With the emergence of different online games, life of adolescents became
inactive. Their time for physical activities decreases as they spend more time using
their gadgets and watching TV or movies. According to the World Health
Organization, in 2010, the physical inactivity or the lack of physical activity has been
identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (6% of deaths). Inactive
in physical activities cause approximately 21-25% breast cancer and colon cancer,
27% of diabetes cases, and approximately 30% of ischemic heart disease case.
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Common results of physical inactivity involve:
* increased risk of being overweight and obese
* hypertension/high blood
* anxiety
* type 2 diabetes mellitus
* depression
Part of the development of the adolescent is to engage in physical activities
at least 60 minutes a day. There are different exercises that you can do, such as
aerobic exercises, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening exercises. Aside
from these various exercises, you should include the principle of progression or
even the principle of overload to effectively achieve your fitness goal.
Regular exercises and frequent participation in physical activities can lead
you to a healthy body and can cope for more demands of effort to become stronger
and more efficient in everyday life. For example, a regular aerobic exercise will
stimulate changes in the various organs and tissues of your body but is more
emphasized in the cardiovascular system. Engaging in muscle-strengthening
exercises can increase the size of your muscles. The increase in muscle fiber size or
hypertrophy commonly starts after two months. Lastly, doing stretching exercises
or bone-strengthening exercises can improve your range of motion around the
joints. It helps you to do daily tasks efficiently.
Common Results of being Active in Physical Activities
* Improves bone, joint, and muscle strength
* Develops motor control and coordination
* Helps maintain a healthy body composition
* Increases the efficiency of the lungs and the heart
* Protects the body from musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain
* Possibly delays aging process
* Promotes healthy cholesterol level
* Helps regulate blood pressure
* Decreases the risk of Type 2 Diabetes
* Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and
stroke
* Improves the psychological functioning
* Improves control over anxiety and depression
* Build self-esteem and social interaction
