In this essay I will be talking about exercise health and lifestyle and how they all link in. Then in the next part I will be talking diseases that can be caused by a lack of exercise a sedentary lifestyle (poor exercise eating unhealthy foods etc.)

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Matt Arnold

Exercise and Risks

In this essay I will be talking about exercise health and lifestyle and how they all link in. Then in the next part I will be talking diseases that can be caused by a lack of exercise a sedentary lifestyle (poor exercise eating unhealthy foods etc.)

        Health is defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (world health organisation). ‘A healthy state of well being free from disease.’ All the definitions from the word health are virtually the same; the definition from WHO says it just doesn’t need physical activity to be healthy but socially as well. This means that they should interact with other people and socialize that could then lead onto physical health, as that would help them to get out more maybe into clubs activities etc. Health can be split into two categories, mental health and physical health. A person with good mental health can handle every day events that occur and some one with poor mental health is exactly the opposite. Some one with poor physical health does not take part in physical activity or sport enough. Some one who has good physical health is the précised opposite. We can all do our bit to improve our health things such as smoking, exercise and a balanced diet that includes lots of fruit and vegetables are a few examples however we all grow old and there are some factors that will eventually happen (uncontrollable factors) for example the ageing process which is to do with your age that we will start to become less mobile and muscle mass decreases this starts to happen over the age of 30. Lots of factors control a persons health these include Lifestyle. Lifestyle can be explained as ‘a way of life or style that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group’. Any one’s lifestyle can be put into two categories it can be either active where you take lots of physical activity or play sport and have an physical demanding job some examples of these are Builders, Carpenters or fitness instructors. If you don’t have an active lifestyle then you have a sedentary lifestyle, where you don’t do any physical activity and have a non-active job, some examples of these are office workers, bus drivers or taxi drivers. Over the years lifestyle has transferred into more sedentary, this is because technology has increased and there is less manual jobs around and more office based environments. Also more people have chosen to use cars or buses as a mean of transport. Instead of walking or cycling. People are now even have labour-saving devices such as dish washes and washing machines to do what used to be by hand job. You can even buy your shopping on the computer instead of walking to the shops. Quite a few people sit down in front of the television as a use of entertainment instead of playing sports or doing physical activity. It’s estimated that that an average male watches television for 26hours a week so it makes life very sedentary. People who have an active lifestyle take lots of exercise. Exercise is deemed as ‘the activity of exerting your muscles in various different ways to keep fit’. ‘Any activity designed to develop or hone a skill or ability’. There can be a wide range of definitions for exercise because you can split exercise into two categories, Fitness and physical activity. Fitness is where the body can function and do every day activities without fatigue, and meet the stresses of every day life. The levels of fitness can be influenced by nutrition; if a person does not have enough calories to exercise they are unable to take part. Therefore they should have ample energy to exercise regally. Aspects of fitness include aerobic fitness, strength and endurance. Physical Activity is different compared to other aspects like sport; sport is classed as sport when competition is involved. Physical activity is such things as walking up the stairs or walking to the shops. It’s ‘defined as the stat of being active’. (Jennifer Stafford – Brown, Simon Rea and John Chance p372)  Physical activity can also increase a person’s basal metabolic rate by 10% basal metabolic rate is measurement of energy required to keep the body functions working when the body is at rest, this can last for up to 48hours after the body has finished physical activity. When physical activity is occurring to burns kilocalories. Depending on what you do and at what intensity the more you kilocalories you’ll burn. For example if you go cycling then you are only using the leg muscles, where as if you swim freestyle then you will are you using your arm muscles as well as your leg muscles. So you will be burning more. Also if a heavy person did the same exercise and the same intensity as a lighter person then the heavier person will burn more kilocalories. This is because the heavier person has to use his/her muscles harder therefore that person will burn more kilocalories.

The government has taken steps to improve the nations fitness levels and get more people involved into either sport or physical activity. In 1991 it took a survey called the ‘Allied Dunber national fitness survey’ in this survey the government came out with several conclusions. They found out that we, as Britain’s are not physically active enough. Were not as physically fit as we think we are. We should aim to exercise a minimum of three times a week. It does not hurt in order to get fit. Fitness levels should be built up gradually. We should take long runs regularly. An active lifestyle should be a way of life. Which is hard for people who are in a living of office based work life. Exercise should not be looked apon as a task rather as a pleasure. Lastly sport can be pleasant and healthy way of exercising. The main reason way the government has put loads of money into getting people into physical activity is so the government doesn’t have to spend as much on the NHS.

        There are many advantages when having a healthy active lifestyle (exercising regularly) it can reduce stress and high blood pressure. It can delay the Ageing process. Also it can personally improve confidence as it get rids of catharsis (release of negative emotions) you feel and look better if you exercise regularly, you may also meet new friends being sociable instead of being in a state of infirmity. Taking part in regularly exercise has shown to decrease in a lot of diseases and conditions, Such as coronary heart disease.

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Coronary heart disease is where arteries leading away from the heart start to narrow, this is a result of a build up of fatty material which builds up in the blood vessels called plaques. Plaques are thought to play a major role in causing in heart disease by clogging up the arteries. This is a process called athersclerosis. Scientist’s has discovered the specific ‘bad cholesterol’ that causes heart disease low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which has combined with oxygen. This is transported in the blood if the levels of LDL get too high it slowly builds up on the walls of the ...

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