Physical activity benefits every aspect of health for both children and adults
Why be active?
How physical activity benefits health
Being active for at least 30 minutes on 5 days of the week can help us to be healthier in both body and mind. Children and youths should be active for at least 60 minutes everyday.
Here are some of the health benefits of being active regularly:
- Feel better
- Stronger heart and lungs
- Reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Lower blood pressure and cholesterol
- Improved overall fitness and energy levels
- Better quality sleep
- Stronger bones
- Prevents chronic disease
- Weight loss
- Decreases stress
- Prolongs independence as we get older
Physical activity benefits every aspect of health for both children and adults. Read more about the benefits in the table below.
Health benefits of physical activity – summary of evidence
| Children and young people |
Strong evidence of:
Some evidence of:
|
| All adults (including adults with disabilities and older adults) |
Strong evidence of:
Some evidence of:
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| US Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2008 | |
Regular physical activity reduces your risk of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis and depression. For older people, regular physical activity reduces risk of falls and resulting injuries. US studies show that regular physical activity reduces many health risks for everyone - children, adolescents, adults, people with disabilities and older people, across all ethnic groups. As you get more active, more often and for longer you reduce your risk of chronic disease.
Obesity is a major public health concern in Ireland, 38% of Irish people are overweight and 23% are obese. One in five Irish children and teenagers is overweight or obese. The less active you are, the more you are at risk of being overweight. To be a healthy weight, you need to take regular physical activity and eat a healthy diet. This ensures a balance between the energy you get from food and the energy you use. Even if you do not lose weight, you will still benefit from being more active. Studies show that active adults who are overweight or obese gain similar health benefits to people with a healthy body weight. View the guidelines for weight management and weight loss.