Exercise and Physical Activity – What is the difference?

Exercise and Physical Activity â€" What is the difference?
Exercise is the purposeful act of physical activity, which is often structured and pursued for health and fitness benefits.Physical Activity refers to all forms of bodily movement that use energy and includes not only leisure time and sport but also such tasks as cleaning the car, gardening and even housework.
Physical fitness is a set of attributes which people have â€" or can even acquire â€" that relate to their ability to perform physical activity. An individual's level of fitness can be partly determined by hereditary factors and through other lifestyle factors.
Sport is a physical activity that involves a structured, competitive situation governed by rules. It is now recognised that a sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to health and there are substantial health benefits to be gained from becoming more active at lower levels of activity than previously thought.Research and Guidelines
The health authority (HEA) produce the active for life campaign after having done extensive research on the nation's physical activity in 1992. This was known as the Allied Dunbar Survey.The findings from HEA 1995 and ADS 1992, men and women, ages 16 to 74 years.The majority of the nation do not do enough physical activity to benefit their health.
Most adults believe they do enough exercise to keep fit70% of men and 80% of women are not active enough to benefit their health90% of adults believe it is important to exercise regularly yet only 40% do it80% were not sure how much exercise to do2/3 women and 1/2 men found it difficult to walk briskly up a slight slope for a while1/3 men and 1/2 of women aged between 65 and 74 do not have sufficient muscle strength or power to lift 50% of their own body weight, making everyday movements difficult, such as getting up from a chair without using their arms
Some fairly shocking findings which should be more than ample motivation to try and remedy these facts.
Amount of ExerciseAs individuals vary, there is no single recommendation. For several years, recommendations have been used to highlight the need for vigorous activity, using the 60% to 90% of maximum heart rate, for twenty minutes, three times per week. These are still valid in terms of health and fitness benefits but most people will not do that as it is too hard a work rate and too prescribed. It may suit those maintaining an active lifestyle but is unlikely to appeal to those who are thinking about or who are preparing to change.
Exercise and exercise success need redefining to include small increases in everyday lifestyle activity. The two recommendations listed below are concerned with encouraging the majority of the population who do not take part in regular activity. They need to be encouraged to make moderate physical activity part of their daily life routine.
1. To reduce mortality 30 minutes of moderate activity five times per week.
2. To Maximize Aerobic Fitness and Reduce Mortality 20 minutes of vigorous activity three times per week or more.
Higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower all cause mortality in populations.
Lower levels of activity is one of the important causes of coronary heart disease (CHD), the biggest killers in our society.