Active living involves adding physical activity to daily routines, such as structured workouts, outdoor activities, or hobbies with movement. The definition varies by age, with young children encouraged to play outside. Benefits include preventing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Some advocate for community support, such as parks and improved physical education in schools.
Active living generally means adding some form of physical activity to a person’s routine each day. For some people, it may mean following a structured workout at a gym or at home, using free weights, exercise equipment, or attending a group class. For other people, it may mean exercising outside, such as biking outside, jogging, or swimming in the pool. Occasionally a person will define it as simply doing activities they like to do, whether it’s skiing, painting, fishing, or diving, as long as there is some movement involved. Very few people will include reading, knitting or crossword puzzles in the category of active life.
Depending on the age of the person, the term active life can slightly alter its meaning. For example, it is completely different for an 80-year-old compared to a 20-year-old. For a healthy 80-year-old, water aerobics, outdoor walks, and even raking leaves can be considered part of an active lifestyle. A healthy 20-year-old has a completely different set of standards set for her. For example, an active lifestyle for a young person might include running, lifting weights, mountain biking, and skiing.
There is some research that has shown that people should start working towards an active lifestyle at a very young age. For example, one- and two-year-olds should be encouraged to play outside for about an hour. Just playing in the park is a great way to get young children involved in an active life. If they’re old enough to walk, a walk through the zoo is also a great way to stay active.
The benefits for active living are quite numerous. For example, it can prevent obesity in both children and adults. It can also lower the chance of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure in most people. Although a person engaged in a strict training regimen clearly lives an active lifestyle, a person who walks to work and up the stairs to their high-rise building can also be considered an active lifestyle.
Some groups believe that active living should be supported by the community. For example, these people believe that parks should be plentiful and contain areas for children and adults to exercise. They also believe that schools should improve the curriculum for physical education so that adolescents appreciate the importance of active living. In general, active life is beneficial for most people. It’s usually up to the informed person to take steps to incorporate physical activity into their day.
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