Physical Education I

GED0004
Module 1

Introduction to Physical Activity

and Fitness
Learning Objective
At the end of the module, students must be able to:
1. Understand the importance of the physical activity in relation
to our health.
2. Identify the different types of physical activity.
3. Demonstrate the basic physical exercise from the different
types of physical activity.
4. Apply and integrate the physical fitness and health concept
in the succeeding fitness class modules and P.E. courses.
Detailed Topics Covered:
I. Definition of Physical Activity
II. Importance of Physical Activity
III. Disadvantage of No Physical Activity
IV. Kinds of Physical activity
What is Physical Activity?
Physical activity can be defined as any movement of the
body that requires energy expenditure. This includes any
motion you do through the day excluding sitting still or lying
down. For example, walking to class, taking the stairs,
mowing the lawn, and even cleaning your house can be
considered physical activity.
Origin of Physical Activity
• It is a return to ‘natural’ activity - the kind for which our
bodies are engineered and which facilitates the proper
function of our biochemistry and physiology. Viewed
through the perspective of evolutionary time, sedentary
existence, possible for great numbers of people only
during the last century, represents a transient, unnatural
aberration. (Eaton, Shostak, Konner 1988, p. 168)
Benefits of Physical Activity
Regular physical activity, such as walking, cycling, wheeling,
doing sports or active recreation, provides significant benefits for
health. Some physical activity is better than doing none. By
becoming more active throughout the day in relatively simple
ways, people can easily achieve the recommended activity
levels.
Regular physical activity can:

• Improve muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness;

• Improve bone and functional health;
• Reduce the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease,
stroke, diabetes, various types of cancer (including breast
cancer and colon cancer), and depression;
• Reduce the risk of falls as well as hip or vertebral fractures; and
• Help maintain a healthy body weight.
In children and adolescents, physical activity
improves:

• Physical fitness (cardiorespiratory and muscular

fitness)
• Cardiometabolic health (blood pressure, dyslipidaemia,
glucose, and insulin resistance)
• Bone health
• Cognitive outcomes (academic performance, executive
function)
• Mental health (reduced symptoms of depression)
• Reduced adiposity
In adults and older adults, higher levels of physical
activity improves:
• Risk of all-cause mortality
• Risk of cardiovascular disease mortality
• Incident hypertension
• Incident site-specific cancers (bladder, breast, colon, endometrial,
oesophageal adenocarcinoma, gastric and renal cancers)
• Incident type-2 diabetes
• Prevents of falls
• Mental health (reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression)
• Cognitive health
• Sleep
• Measures of adiposity may also improve
For pregnant and postpartum women
Physical activity confers the following maternal and fetal health benefits: a
decreased risk of:
• Pre-eclampsia
• Gestational hypertension
• Gestational diabetes (for example 30% reduction in risk)
• Excessive gestational weight gain
• Delivery complications
• Postpartum depression
• Newborn complications and physical activity has no adverse effects on
birthweight or increased risk of stillbirth.
Levels of Recommended Physical Activity

Children and Adolescents (ages 5-17 years) are

recommended to participate in at least 60 minutes daily
moderate to vigorous-intesity physical activity

(WHO, 2018)
(WHO, 2020)
Adults (aged 18-64 years):
• at least 150 minutes of moderate-intesity physical
activity, weekly
• at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical
activity, weekly

(WHO, 2018)
Adults aged 65 years and above
• As part of their weekly physical activity, older adults should do
varied multicomponent physical activity that emphasizes
functional balance and strength training at moderate or
greater intensity, on 3 or more days a week, to enhance
functional capacity and to prevent falls.
Disadvantage of No Physical Activity
Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for noncommunicable
diseases mortality. People who are insufficiently active have a 20% to 30%
increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active.
• Less active and less fit people have a greater risk of developing high
blood pressure.
• Physical inactivity can increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.
• Lack of physical activity can add to feelings of anxiety and depression.
• Physical inactivity may increase the risk of certain cancers.
• Physically inactive overweight or obese people significantly increased
their risk of various disease.
Health risks of sedentary behaviour
Lives are becoming increasingly sedentary, through the use of motorized transport and the
increased use of screens for work, education and recreation. Evidence shows higher
amounts of sedentary behaviour are associated with the following poor health outcomes:

In children and adolescents:

• increased adiposity (weight gain)
• poorer cardiometabolic health, fitness, behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour
• reduced sleep duration

In adults:
• all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer mortality
• incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and type-2 diabetes.
Sedentary Lifestyle (Physical Inactivity)
• As per WHO (2018), physical inactivity is a key risk
factor for noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and
diabetes.
According to Hamilton et al. (2004), Physiologically, sitting
leads to:

• ↓ skeletal muscle lipoprotein lipase activity – (Involved in

fat metabolism)
• ↓ glucose uptake

(as cited by Owen et al., 2012)

**Therefore, SITTING slows down the metabolism

Stamatakis et al. (2019)
concluded that sitting is
associated with
all-cause and
cardiovascular
disease (CVD) mortality
risk among physically
Inactive adults
In this study, 67.2% of
Filipino college students
were physically inactive

Acampado & Valenzuela,

(2017) stated that the
primary reason for physical
inactivity was lack of time.
Yuchingtat et al. (n.d)

confirmed 86% of at-

risk high school
students in Manila,
aged 11-18 years old,
were found to be
physically “inactive”.
 4 Main Types Physical Activity
1. Aerobic
2. Muscle Strengthening
3. Balance
4. Flexibility
Aerobic
Aerobic exercise provides cardiovascular conditioning. The term aerobic
actually means "with oxygen," which means that breathing controls the
amount of oxygen that can make it to the muscles to help them burn fuel and
move.

Examples of Aerobic exercise:

- Swimming
- Cycling
- Jogging
Proceed with the [M1-Video] Instruction Video - Aerobic
Anaerobic
Anaerobic exercise is any activity that breaks down
glucose for energy without using oxygen. Generally,
these activities are of short length with high intensity.

Example exercise:
-Sprinting
Proceed with the [M1-Video] Instruction Video - Anaerobic
Muscle Strengthening
Muscle-strengthening activities are those that require them to lift
their own body weight or to work against a resistance

Examples of Muscle Strengthening:

- Working with resistance band
- Push-ups, Pull-ups and Squats
Proceed with the [M1-Video] Instruction Video - Muscle
Strengthening
Balance
Balance is the ability to distribute your weight in a way that
lets you stand or move without falling, or recover if you trip.
Good balance requires the coordination of several parts of
the body: the central nervous system, inner ear, eyes,
muscles, bones, and joints.
Proceed with the [M1-Video] Instruction Video - Balance
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability of a joint or series of joints to move
through an unrestricted, pain free range of motion. Although
flexibility varies widely from person to person, minimum ranges
are necessary for maintaining joint and total body health.
Proceed with the [M1-Video] Instruction Video - Flexibility
https://www.hhs.k-state.edu/kines/about/outreach/activity-guide/whatispa.html
https://medical.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Physical_Fitness_101.pdf
https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/9-proven-benefits-of-physical-activity
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=85&contentid=P00218
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7050-aerobic-exercise
https://www.willington.durham.sch.uk/pupils/get-active-get-fit/muscle-strengthening-activity/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/balance
https://health.ucdavis.edu/sports-medicine/resources/flexibility#:~:text=Flexibility%20is%20the%20ability%20of,joint%20and%20total%20body%20health.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/risks-of-physical-inactivity
Acampado, E., & Valenzuela, M. (2018). Physical activity and dietary habits of Filipino college students. Kinesiology, 50(1), 57–67. doi:
10.26582/k.50.1.11
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Stamatakis, E., Gale, J., Bauman, A., Ekelund, U., Hamer, M., & Ding, D. (2019). Sitting Time, Physical Activity, and Risk of Mortality in
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