Physical Activity

Physical activity is any movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. It includes all activities, at any intensity, performed during any time of day or night. This encompasses both voluntary exercise (such as running, swimming, or strength training) and incidental activity integrated into daily routines (such as walking to the store, cleaning, or using active transport).

Health Benefits

Physical activity offers numerous health benefits:

• Increased physical activity improves physical and mental health, as well as cognitive and cardiovascular function.
• Even small amounts of physical activity are beneficial; more is generally better, but any movement is healthier than none. Regular exercise can enhance sleep quality by regulating circadian rhythm Sleep disorder.
• Physical activity is a key regulator in controlling body weight and reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.

Note: improving cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) through regular aerobic exercise — see Cardio Exercises and Cardiorespiratory fitness — is one of the strongest single lifestyle predictors of cardiovascular and overall health.

It also promotes reproductive health: moderate physical activity may increase fertility rates among couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatments. This connection highlights how lifestyle choices can influence biological processes like fertilization Fertilization.

Physical Activity vs. Exercise

• Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of improving or maintaining physical fitness.
• Physical activity includes all movement, whether or not it is planned or structured.

This distinction helps clarify how different forms of movement relate to health outcomes like pregnancy preparation Fertilization.

Population Health

Lack of physical activity contributes significantly to negative health outcomes:

• Sedentary lifestyles are linked with higher rates of chronic conditions, obesity, and reduced fertility.
• Increasing population-level physical activity can be achieved through school programs, active transport, urban design, healthcare, public education, sport, workplaces, and community-wide initiatives.

Public health campaigns often emphasize the importance of exercise during reproductive years for optimal egg quality. This shows how broader societal efforts in promoting movement intersect with biological processes like fertilization to improve population health outcomes.

Related Topics

• Exercise
• Sleep
• Insomnia
• Sleep disorder
• Restless legs syndrome

See also:

• Fertilization — The biological process that may be influenced by physical activity levels.
• Epigenetics — How environment (including exercise, nutrition and exposures) can alter epigenetic marks and influence gene expression during development and ageing.