We have all heard it many times before - regular exercise is good for you, and it can help you lose weight. But if you are like many Americans, you are busy, you have a sedentary job, and you haven't yet changed your exercise habits. The good news is that it's never too late to start. You can start slowly, and find ways to fit more physical activity into your life. To get the most benefit, you should try to get the recommended amount of exercise for your age. If you can do it, the payoff is that you will feel better, help prevent or control many diseases, and likely even live longer.

What are the health benefits of exercise?

Regular exercise and physical activity may

• Help you control your weight. Along with diet, exercise plays an important role in controlling your weight and preventing obesity. To maintain your weight, the calories you eat and drink must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must use more calories than you eat and drink.


• Reduce your risk of heart diseases. Exercise strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, and heart attack. Regular exercise can also lower your blood pressure and triglyceride levels.


• Help your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels. Exercise can lower your blood sugar level and help your insulin work better. This can cut down your risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And if you already have one of those diseases, exercise can help you to manage it.


• Help you quit smoking. Exercise may make it easier to quit smoking by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can also help limit the weight you might gain when you stop smoking.


• Improve your mental health and mood. During exercise, your body releases chemicals that can improve your mood and make you feel more relaxed. This can help you deal with stress and reduce your risk of depression.


• Help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. Exercise stimulates your body to release proteins and other chemicals that improve the structure and function of your brain.


• Strengthen your bones and muscles. Regular exercise can help kids and teens build strong bones. Later in life, it can also slow the loss of bone density that comes with age. Doing muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength.


• Reduce your risk of some cancers, including colon, breast , uterine, and lung cancer.


• Reduce your risk of falls. For older adults, research shows that doing balance and muscle-strengthening activities in addition to moderate-intensity aerobic activity can help reduce your risk of falling.


• Improve your sleep. Exercise can help you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.


• Improve your sexual health. Regular exercise may lower the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. For those who already have ED, exercise may help improve their sexual function. In women, exercise may increase sexual arousal.


• Increase your chances of living longer. Studies show that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from the leading causes of death, like heart disease and some cancers.

How can I make exercise a part of my regular routine?

• Make everyday activities more active. Even small changes can help. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk down the hall to a coworker's office instead of sending an email. Wash the car yourself. Park further away from your destination.


• Be active with friends and family. Having a workout partner may make you more likely to enjoy exercise. You can also plan social activities that involve exercise. You might also consider joining an exercise group or class, such as a dance class, hiking club, or volleyball team.


• Keep track of your progress. Keeping a log of your activity or using a fitness tracker may help you set goals and stay motivated.


• Make exercise more fun. Try listening to music or watching TV while you exercise. Also, mix things up a little bit - if you stick with just one type of exercise, you might get bored. Try doing a combination of activities.


• Find activities that you can do even when the weather is bad.You can walk in a mall, climb stairs, or work out in a gym even if the weather stops you from exercising outside.

Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits. Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity.

Everyone can experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter.

Some benefits of physical activity on brain health happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 years of age and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.

Both eating patterns and physical activity routines play a critical role in weight management. You gain weight when you consume more calories through eating and drinking than the amount of calories you burn, including those burned during physical activity.

To maintain your weight: Work your way up to 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, which could include dancing or yard work. You could achieve the goal of 150 minutes a week with 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

People vary greatly in how much physical activity they need for weight management. You may need to be more active than others to reach or maintain a healthy weight.

To lose weight and keep it off: You will need a high amount of physical activity unless you also adjust your eating patterns and reduce the amount of calories you’re eating and drinking. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight requires both regular physical activity and healthy eating.

Cardiovascular Disease

Heart disease and stroke are two leading causes of death in the United States. Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.

Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People start to see benefits at levels from physical activity even without meeting the recommendations for 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more.

Some Cancers

Being physically active lowers your risk for developing several common cancers.  Adults who participate in greater amounts of physical activity have reduced risks of developing cancers of the:

• Bladder
• Breast
• Colon (proximal and distal)
• Endometrium
• Esophagus (adenocarcinoma)
• Kidney
• Lung
• Stomach (cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma)

If you are a cancer survivor, getting regular physical activity not only helps give you a better quality of life, but also improves your physical fitness.

As you age, it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles – they support your body and help you move. Keeping bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you’re able to do your daily activities and be physically active.

Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength. This is important for older adults who experience reduced muscle mass and muscle strength with aging. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age.

Everyday activities include climbing stairs, grocery shopping, or playing with your grandchildren. Being unable to do everyday activities is called a functional limitation. Physically active middle-aged or older adults have a lower risk of functional limitations than people who are inactive.

For older adults, doing a variety of physical activity improves physical function and decreases the risk of falls or injury from a fall. Include physical activities such as aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance training. Multicomponent physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a structured program.

Hip fracture is a serious health condition that can result from a fall. Breaking a hip have life-changing negative effects, especially if you’re an older adult. Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people.

An estimated 110,000 deaths per year could be prevented if US adults ages 40 and older increased their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by a small amount. Even 10 minutes more a day would make a difference.

Taking more steps a day also helps lower the risk of premature death from all causes. For adults younger than 60, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. For adults 60 and older, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.

Regular physical activity can help people manage existing chronic conditions and disabilities. For example, regular physical activity can:

• Reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis.
• Help control blood sugar levels and lower risk of heart disease and nerve damage for people with type 2 diabetes.
• Help support daily living activities and independence for people with disabilities. 

Regular physical activity is good for your heart, muscles, and bones. Did you know it’s good for your brain too?

Physical activity can help you think, learn, problem-solve, and enjoy an emotional balance. It can improve memory and reduce anxiety or depression.

Regular physical activity can also reduce your risk of cognitive decline, including dementia. One study found that cognitive decline is almost twice as common among adults who are inactive compared to those who are active.

Regular physical activity can help you sleep and feel better, reduce the risk of some common cancers, and add years to your life.

You don’t have to be a fitness guru to reap the benefits. No matter your age or fitness level, any amount of physical activity can help.

What You Can Do

For the most benefit, adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity. It doesn’t have to happen in one stretch. For example, moderate-intensity activity could be broken into 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, or smaller bouts that add up.

All adults also need muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week. And adults 65 and older need balance activities about three days a week.

Here are four activities  to help you become healthier:

1. Turn up the music at home and dance.
   Twisting and turning can be a fun way to be physically active.
2. Take active breaks.
   Break up your sedentary time with physical activity. For example, squat or march in place between programs while you’re watching television. Or stand on one leg to improve your balance.
3. Add physical activity to your daily routine.
   When shopping, park at the back of the parking lot and walk to the shop. Inside, walk around the perimeter of the store before getting what you need. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Get off transit one stop sooner and walk to your destination. If you already walk routinely, start carrying hand weights on your treks.
4. Walk the dog.
   Dogs are great walking companions and can help you have an active lifestyle. One study found that dog owners on average walk 22 minutes more every day compared to people who don’t own a dog. You can even try going a little further on walks with your dog.

Remember that some activity is better than none, and every little bit counts. Even some chores such as raking and bagging leaves, using a lawn mower, or vacuuming can help you get active.

Get started by keeping track of your daily activities for one  week with this diary. Think about  times throughout the day you could be physically active and make those times a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule. 

Immediate Benefits for Adults

A single bout of moderate-to vigorous physical activity provides immediate benefits for your health.

Sleep
– Improves sleep quality

Less Anxiety
– Reduces feelings of anxiety

Blood Pressure
– Reduces blood pressure

Long-term Benefits for Adults

Regular physical activity provides important health benefits for chronic disease prevention.

Brain Health
– Reduces risks of developing dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) and reduces risk of depression

Heart Health
– Lowers risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes

Cancer Prevention
-Lowers risk of eight cancers: bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach

Healthy Weight
– Reduces risk of weight gain

Bone Strength
– Improves bone health

Balance and Coordination
– Reduces risks of falls

Emerging research suggests physical activity may also help boost immune function.

Health Benefits for Children

Academic Performance
– Improves attention and memory

Brain Health
– Reduces risk of depression

Muscular Fitness
– Builds strong muscles and endurance

Heart and Lung Health
– Improves blood pressure and aerobic fitness

Cardiometabolic Health
– Helps maintain normal blood sugar levels

Long-term Health
– Reduces risk of several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and obesity

Bone Strength
– Strengthens bones

Healthy Weight
– Helps regulate body weight and reduce body fat