Ahmad 1

Majd Ahmad

Mrs. Dawn

English 1A

June 27th, 2020

The Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Health and fitness are a treasure that every individual should strive to achieve to live a

lively and comfortable life. Without both, people may face many difficulties and rapidly find

themselves directing most of their income to solve health issues. Some of the ways to ensure you

remain fit and healthy are exercising, eating a balanced diet which includes fruits and vegetables,

and avoiding junk food as much as possible (“Health & Fitness Tips”). Taking up exercise may

be difficult and would require the help of a professional trainer to gain efficiency. It is important

to note that having a muscular body is not the sole indicator of health and fitness. Health and

fitness also include being internally, mentally, and emotionally fit, which may largely influence

your day to day life.

In earlier days people like our grandparents managed to achieve excellent care of their

health and fitness through consuming healthy food and by leading a far better lifestyle, which

included a lot of physical activity. The recent generation has been oblivious to health and fitness,

but the case has changed plenty recently. Increased awareness about the importance of health and

fitness has made everyone seriously think about this problem and find ways to remain healthier.

The primary step towards fitness is by keeping yourself calm and relaxed. Doing so facilitates

being mentally and physically fit to some extent. Exercise and other forms of physical activity

like dancing, yoga, etc., are the simplest ways to stay fit, and these practices also will, in turn,

facilitate calmness and composure. Health and fitness play a significant role in your life.
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Working out keeps you content and happy. It is important to avoid vices that may not only ruin

your body and mind but also act as a negative influence on others around you, both mentally and

physically. Health and fitness should be maintained through regular workouts, healthier food,

and healthier habits. The following paper discusses the factors influencing physical activity and

the impact of physical activity on health and fitness. Physical activity can be used as a prevention

intervention for various chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension and should be

adopted from a young age by incorporating physical education in education programs.

Factors Influencing Physical Activity Levels

Althoff et al. (2) report that physical activity levels vary between countries. Therefore,

the benefits enjoyed due to physical activity are also disproportionately enjoyed between

different countries. The said benefits include improving musculoskeletal health and function,

prevention of cognitive decline, and reduction in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Varying

physical activity levels are dependent on various adjustable factors such as the physical

environment. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence physical activities in various countries

are related to the activity levels and interaction of the factors. Intrinsic factors influencing

physical activity are gender, age, and weight, while extrinsic factors are public transportation

density among others.

Apart from regional disparities, there are also gender disparities in physical activity. The

disparities lead to activity inequalities, where women experience a disproportionate decrease in

physical activity compared to males. There is an increase in the prevalence of obesity in women

associated with a decrease in physical activity, which is lower than that in men Althoff et al. (3).

A city’s built environment determines the walkability of the city. The walkability of the city acts

as an adjustable extrinsic factor likely to increase activity levels, mitigate activity inequality, and
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reduce the gender activity gap. Higher walkability scores reduce activity inequality.

Additionally, high walkability leads to an increase in the daily steps across all gender, age, and

BMI groups. The impact of city walkability on activity levels is more evident in women than

men Althoff et al. (4).

Using Wearable Technology to Improve Health and Fitness Practices

Emerging persuasive technology and wearable sensors play significant roles in improving

health and fitness practices. The technologies motivate users through visualization and creation

of awareness. Some of the technologies incorporate personal informatics systems that support

health and fitness by tracking and monitoring sleep duration and patterns, weight, and overall

activity (Fritz et al. 487). They also incorporate reflective technologies that provide insight into

users’ behavior. Activity sensing combined with visualization of the activity help participant to

maintain activity levels by providing positive feedback. Apart from visualization, wearable

technology systems also use persuasion through coaching and advising. A study designed to

determine the impact of coaching on activity levels incorporated an animated person as an

exercise coach. Participants involved in the study reported a 215% increase in walking during the

study (Fritz et al. 488).

Wearable technology also supports the influence of social aspects of persuasive

monitoring technologies. Sharing health information among peers acted as a powerful motivator.

The prolonged use of wearable devices leads to the development of attachment to the devices. It

also leads to an increase in awareness of the value of the recorded measurements on their

physical activity levels measured by the system (Fritz et al. 490). Numerical feedback provided

by the technology reinforces and motivates physical activities. It also motivates users to make

durable changes such as opting to take the stairs instead of using the elevator and walking more.
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Goals and rewards provided by wearable technology devices such as the Fitbit influence personal

activity and fitness goals, by providing a benchmark that allowed people to conceptualize their

physical activity (Fritz et al. 492).

Impact of Physical Activity on Health and Fitness

Most education systems, including Canada and the United States (US), recognize the

importance of adopting an education curriculum that includes health and fitness awareness

programs such as physical education. Ensuring that children and youth remain physically fit

requires mandatory participation in moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity for 30 to 90

minutes (Janssen et al. 1). Including a physical education program in schools to encourage

children and youth to take up health and fitness is an effective way of supporting the onset of the

physical fitness journey in adulthood. People with a background of knowledge from physical

education programs in school enjoy an easier time taking up and maintain health and fitness

habits.

The benefits associated with physical activity have long been recognized by ancient

philosophers and physicians. For instance, Plato believed that the lack of physical activity

destroys the optimum condition of human beings. On the other hand, keeping physically fit saves

and preserves the optimum condition of human beings. Physical activity is recognized as one of

the most critical approaches to the prevention of all-cause mortality. According to McKinney et

al. (2), there is an inverse relationship between physical activity, all-cause mortality rates, and

cardiovascular death. Physical activity determines cardiorespiratory fitness. The reduction in all-

cause mortality caused by physical activity is determined by the duration of physical activity.

Therefore, the increased physical activity causes the greater health benefits.
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McKinney et al. (4) discusses the risk reduction of various lifestyle diseases associated

with physical activity. Physical activity reduces risk of developing hypertension, which is the

most critical factor for stroke, heart failure, and renal failure. Therefore, risk reduction in

developing hypertension also reduces the risk of suffering from a stroke, heart disease, or renal

disease. Physical activity is also associated with a reduced risk of developing diabetes. Diabetes

is primarily caused by modifiable factors such as obesity and physical inactivity. Current

treatment interventions are considered inadequate in comparison to prevention interventions such

as physical activity to prevent being overweight, obese, and hence reduce the risk of diabetes.

Physical activity reduces the risk of getting cancer. Physically inactive people have higher risks

of suffering from cancer than physically active people.

Cancer is recognized as one of the principal causes of death. Fitness is inversely related

to cancer death. Capozzi et al. (1) performed a systemic review of the impact of physical activity

in head and neck cancer patients. Treatment interventions such as radiation therapy cause several

unpleasant symptoms that reduce the quality of life for cancer patients. Such symptoms include

weight loss, muscle wasting, and functional decline. The severity of the symptoms is associated

with the location of the cancerous tumors, inflammatory tumor factors, and the associated

nutritional challenges. One of the main interventions used to reduce the incidence and intensity

of symptoms is nutrition counseling. Apart from nutrition counseling, physical activity has also

been recognized as a suitable intervention for reducing negative side effects associated with

cancer treatment.

Physical activity is also associated with enhanced mental health. Studies show that

physical activity leads to a decrease in depressive symptoms for patients with major and minor

depressive disorders. Depressive symptoms are reduced by 30% in patients with chronic disease.
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Physical activity is also associated with maintaining cognitive function in older age. The human

brain starts losing grey matter at thirty years. The loss of gray matter is disproportionate in the

frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes of the brain. Research shows that physical activity protects

against cognitive decline. It reduces the risk of cognitive decline by 38%. It also leads to a

reduction in the incidence of vascular dementia by increasing neurotrophic factors in the brain.

Physical activity leads to greater gray matter volume in frontal and temporal lobes regardless of

age. It is also associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (McKinney et al.

5).

Impact of Physical Inactivity

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 2 people in the

US live with a chronic condition. Despite the benefits of physical activity associated with a

reduction in the risk of developing some chronic illnesses, only half the adults in the US get the

physical activity they require to help reduce and prevent chronic illnesses. Ensuring that an

individual gets adequate physical activity prevents 1 in 10 premature deaths. The economic costs

associated with physical inactivity is $117 billion ("Physical Activity").

Conclusion

Health and fitness are a treasure that every individual should aim to achieve to

prevent diseases and improve their quality of life. Health and fitness can be ensured by taking a

balanced diet and including physical activity in one’s daily routine. Physical activity levels can

be influenced by extrinsic or intrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors include age, gender, and weight

while extrinsic factors include public transportation and the built environment Althoff et al. (2).

These factors lead to gender and regional disparities in physical activities. Using wearable

technology can improve health and fitness by motivating users to increase physical activity
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through coaching and visualization. Physical activity reduces premature deaths caused by various

chronic and acute conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. Physical education

should be included in education programs to encourage health and fitness in adults.

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Annotated Bibliography

Bouchard, Claude, Steven N. Blair, and William L. Haskell. Physical activity and health. Human

Kinetics, 2012.

This source provides information about the health benefits associated with a

physically active lifestyle. It also describes the adverse effects of a physically inactive

lifestyle. The relationship between sedentarism and physical outcomes is adequately

described. The book provides support for the thesis in this paper and emphasizes the

need for physical exercise.

Vandelanotte, Corneel, et al. "Past, present, and future of eHealth and mHealth research to

improve physical activity and dietary behaviors." Journal of nutrition education and

behavior 48.3 (2016): 219-228.

This source discusses possible interventions to increase physical activity and

eliminate unhealthy diets. Electronic health and mobile health solutions can be used

in larger populations to influence health and fitness behavior. The source provides

evidence of the use of eHealth and mHealth interventions in improving physical

activity and nutrition behaviors.

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Works Cited

Althoff, Tim, et al. "Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity

inequality." Nature 547.7663 (2017): 336-339. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23018

Capozzi, Lauren C., et al. "The impact of physical activity on health-related fitness and quality of

life for patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review." British journal of

sports medicine 50.6 (2016): 325-338. 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094684

Fritz, Thomas, et al. "Persuasive technology in the real world: a study of long-term use of

activity sensing devices for fitness." Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human

factors in computing systems. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557383

“Health & Fitness Tips.” Ebony, vol. 56, no. 4, Feb. 2001, p. 34. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=3929892&site=ehost-live.

Janssen, Ian, and Allana G. LeBlanc. "Systematic review of the health benefits of physical

activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth." International journal of

behavioral nutrition and physical activity 7.1 (2010): 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-

5868-7-40

McKinney, James, et al. "The health benefits of physical activity and cardiorespiratory

fitness." British Columbia Medical Journal 58.3 (2016): 131-137.

"Physical Activity". Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, 2020,

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/index.html. Accessed 28 July 2020.