Regular physical activity is essential to staying healthy. The benefits are many.
Physical activity:
1. Helps maintain and increase muscle strength, improving balance, overall co-ordination, reaction time and flexibility. Some physical activities even improve mental concentration.
2. Prevents muscle decay. Inactive people lose muscle fibre at a rate of 3% to 5% every decade after age 30. This amounts to a loss of 30% of muscle fibre by age 60.
3. Increases tolerance to stress, improves mood and reduces the risk of depression and anxiety.
4. Improves self-esteem and self-confidence and may even contribute to widening one's social circle.
5. Increases resistance to diseases by bolstering the immune system.
6. Reduces the incidence of illnesses such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.