Benefits of being active

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, as a nation we have been given advice by the Prime Minister and Chief Medical Officer both stating, “Right now exercise is one of the best things you can do to help fight diseases like Coronavirus and other health conditions.” It’s free, easy to take, has an immediate effect and you don’t need a GP to get some.

People who are active have a lower risk of developing many long-term (chronic) conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers. Given the overwhelming evidence, it seems obvious that we should all be physically active. It’s essential if you want to live a healthy and fulfilling life into old age.

It’s medically proven that people who do regular physical activity have:

What counts?

To stay healthy, adults should try to be active every day and aim to achieve at least 150 minutes of physical activity over a week through a variety of activities. To achieve this you should aim for around 30 minutes of physical activity each day, though this can be split up into as many short bursts as you like.

For most people, the easiest way to get moving is to make activity part of everyday life, like walking or cycling instead of using the car to get around. However, the more you do, the better, and taking part in activities such as gardening, sports, fitness and general day to day housework, will make you even healthier and feel better within yourself.