It is planned, structured, repetitive movement of the body designed to improve or maintain fitness

Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. The term "physical activity" should not be confused with "exercise", which is a subcategory of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and aims to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness. Popular ways to be active are through walking, cycling, sports and recreation, and can be done at any level of skill and for enjoyment.

Physical activity promotes blood and oxygen flows, burns energy and helps enhance mental well-being – all essential to reducing the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It also builds immunity and strengthens the body’s response to communicable diseases. To individuals, the failure to enjoy adequate levels of physical activity increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes by 20–30% and shortens lifespan by 3–5 years.

Insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide, including in the WHO South-East Asia Region, where NCDs cause around 8.5 million deaths every year, many of them premature. Though the Region has a relatively young population, the prevalence of NCDs is increasing mortality, particularly among populations who disproportionately suffer from them. Moreover, physical inactivity burdens society through the hidden and growing cost of medical care and loss of productivity.

Increasing physical activity requires a whole of society and culturally relevant approach and therefore demands a collective effort across different sectors and disciplines. All age groups can benefit from regular muscle-strengthening exercises. Children aged 5-17 require at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity daily aerobic activity. Adults aged 18-64 need 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity weekly aerobic activity. Older persons aged 65 and above require at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity weekly aerobic activity.

All Member States have incorporated specific points on the promotion of physical activity into national multisectoral NCD action plans and implemented innovative measures to promote physical activity in schools, workplaces and public spaces. All countries are committed to achieving the global target of reducing physical inactivity by 10% by 2025 and 15% by 2030, for which they are leveraging the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030 and its ACTIVE toolkit.

The WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour provide evidence-based public health recommendations for children, adolescents, adults...

Walk the Talk : The Health for All Challenge

Virtual Walk the Talk held on 17 May 2020 from SEARO, promoting good physical and mental health.

Stretching @ meeting

A video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing two minutes stretching exercises in standing position.

Stretching and calculation

A video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing two minutes stretching exercise in standing position to be used for a break.

Chicken Dance @ meeting

A video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand on exercising in fun way.

Five minutes stretching

5 minutes video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing workplace stretching exercises.

Four minutes stretching

4 minutes video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing workplace stretching exercises.

Three minutes stretching

3 minutes video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing workplace stretching exercises.

One minute stretching

1 minute video produced by Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand showing workplace stretching exercises.

How did you spend your last 24 hours? What do you do during a typical 24-hour weekday? Take a few moments and divide up those 24 hours and reflect on how you typically spend that time. How many hours did you spend sleeping? How many hours did you spend sitting down (don’t forget the times you sit in the car, while you eat, etc.)? How many hours did you spend moving?

Once you have completed your 24-hour self-reflection activity, think more specifically about your movement time. What type of movement did you do? What was the intensity and intentionality of that movement?

Over the past few decades, Americans have heard over and over that a minimum of 30 minutes of daily exercise is essential to good health. However, the latest research suggests that how much time we spend sitting could be just as important as how much time we spend exercising. In fact, a new term has been coined to describe those who exercise, but spend the majority of their days being sedentary: active couch potatoes.

While the term couch potato usually refers to a lazy person who prefers to just sit around and watch TV, an active couch potato refers to someone who is inactive for the majority of the day, but regularly makes sure to get in 30 minutes of exercise on most days. An active couch potato is not necessarily lazy, but spend most of his or her time sitting during leisure time, work (and commuting to and from work) and while eating meals. In other words, they’re almost completely physically inactive throughout the day, with the exception of that 30 or minutes of daily exercise. Although 30 minutes of exercise is absolutely beneficial and healthful, the rest of the day is causing tremendous health hazards. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified physical inactivity as an independent risk factor for chronic disease development, and it is now the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

So, exactly how do we differentiate between exercise and being physically active? And is the distinction important? Here are some definitions that should help clear things up:

Physical activity is movement that is carried out by the skeletal muscles that requires energy. In other words, any movement one does is actually physical activity.

Exercise, however, is planned, structured, repetitive and intentional movement intended to improve or maintain physical fitness. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity.

Research provides significant evidence that ALL physical activity positively contributes to overall health and well-being. Exercise also assists with the improvement of physical fitness, which consists of five specific components:

-Cardiorespiratory fitness

-Muscular strength fitness

-Muscular endurance fitness

-Flexibility fitness

-Body composition

This graphic from the American Institute for Cancer Research visually depicts the importance of both daily physical activity AND structured exercise (in relation to cancer indicators). Here, the green reflects structured exercise, while the yellow reflects daily physical activity.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

How Can You Become More Physically Active?

An easy way to start transforming a sedentary lifestyle into a more active one is to begin standing more and sitting less. If you work at a desk all day, create a workstation that requires you to stand (and therefore move more). Think about creating opportunities to walk at lunchtime and before or after work. Consider adding leisure time activities to your weekly routines, especially those that involve the whole family, such as bike rides, hikes and walks around the neighborhood. What about your home? Do you enjoy gardening? Make time for it throughout the week instead of leaving it all to the weekend. And instead of dedicating just one day every other week to clean, try to include daily active chores that take 10 minutes or less. When you engage with technology, creatively think about how you can move. Try placing some simple equipment like a yoga mat or resistance ball or resistance bands in your living room so they are easily accessible while watching TV. There are countless opportunities to increase daily physical activity, but you do have to look for them.

As you evaluate your 24-hour activity reflection, consider making a detailed plan that includes both elements:

1. Daily increased physical activity

2. Structured, planned, intentional exercise to improve physical fitness

Omitting one or the other can have serious and detrimental consequences for your health, fitness and overall well-being. Don’t be a couch potato or an active couch potato—make the change today and add BOTH elements to your life to reap the life-changing benefits of physical activity and exercise.