Physical Activity

Definitions

Physical activity

Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in an expenditure of energy.


Physical fitness

Physical fitness is a measure of a person's ability to perform physical activities that require endurance, strength, or flexibility and is determined by a combination of regular activity and genetically inherited ability.

Exercise

Exercise is physical activity that is planned or structured. It involves repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more of the components of physical fitness—cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
Dimensions of physical activity: frequency, intensity, duration, type and context

Moderate-intensity physical activity

Moderate-intensity physical activity generally requires sustained rhythmic movements and refers to a level of effort equivalent to: 3 to 6 metabolic equivalents (METs); any activity that burns 14.7 to 29.4kJ per minute (kJ/min); or the effort a healthy individual might expend while walking briskly, mowing the lawn, dancing, swimming, or bicycling on level terrain, for example. A person should feel some exertion but should be able to carry on a conversation comfortably during the activity.


Vigorous-intensity physical activity

Vigorous-intensity physical activity generally requires sustained, rhythmic movements and refers to a level of effort equivalent to greater than 6 metabolic equivalents (METs); any activity that burns more than 29.4 kJ/ min; or the effort a healthy individual might expend while jogging, mowing the lawn with a hand mower, chopping wood, participating in high-impact aerobic dancing, swimming continuous laps, or bicycling uphill, for example. Vigorous-intensity physical activity may be intense enough to represent a substantial challenge to an individual and results in a significant increase in heart and breathing rate.


Physically inactive

Sedentary – no sports activities in the previous seven days.

Relatively inactive – some leisure-time physical activity in the previous seven days but less than 2.5 hours.


Physically active

Relatively active – at least 2.5 hours but less than five hours of leisure-time physical activity in the previous seven days.

Highly active – five hours or more of leisure-time physical activity in the previous seven days.


Leisure-time physical activity

Leisure-time physical activity is physical activity that is performed during exercise, recreation, or any additional time other than that associated with one's regular job duties, occupation, or transportation

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