Nutrition for Health and Fitness

Physical Fitness and Health

• Physical fitness refers to a set of abilities that enable individuals to perform specific types of physical activity.
• Health-related fitness consists of:
  • Healthy body weight and composition
  • Cardiorespiratory fitness
  • Adequate muscular strength
  • Muscular endurance
  • Sufficient flexibility

Physical Activity vs. Exercise

• Physical activity (PA) refers to any bodily movement caused by muscular contraction that results in energy expenditure.
• Unstructured PA includes daily activities such as walking, gardening, and household chores.
• Structured PA, also known as exercise, is a planned program designed to improve physical fitness.

Basic Principles of Exercise Training

• Overload: intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise
• Progression: gradually increasing the overload as the body adapts to the exercise
• Specificity: specific adaptations the body makes in response to the type of exercise and overload
• Recuperation: recovery time needed after exercise
• Individuality: exercise effects vary depending on individual genetic characteristics
• Reversibility: disuse leads to loss of adaptations made during exercise (use it or lose it)

Role of Exercise in Health Promotion

• Regular exercise can:
  • Prevent and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer)
  • Improve self-image and mental health
  • Reduce the risk of falls in older adults
  • Improve bone health and immune function
  • Reduce arthritis pain and improve quality of sleep and life

Benefits of Exercise

• Prevent and reduce joint problems by:
  • Decreasing joint wear and tear through weight loss
  • Preventing arthritis through exercise
  • Keeping muscles, bones, and cartilage strong and healthy
• Halt bone loss by:
  • Increasing bone mass and strength through exercise
  • Reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis
• Improve respiratory function by:
  • Increasing lung efficiency and reducing breathing difficulties
• Reduce cardiovascular disease risk by:
  • Lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke
  • Preventing atherosclerosis by reducing cholesterol plaques
• Reduce cancer risk by:
  • Preventing obesity, a major risk factor for several types of cancer
  • Reducing circulating estrogen levels and breast cancer risk
  • Speeding up food movement through the GI tract and reducing colon cancer risk
• Manage diabetes by:
  • Increasing insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake
  • Controlling body weight and reducing the risk of diabetes development
• Reduce depression by:
  • Improving sleep patterns and self-esteem
  • Stimulating endorphin production and reducing pain and stress

How Exercise Enhances Health

• Exercise involves changes in gene expression that modify cell structure and function
• Exercise induces the production of cytokines, such as myokines and adipokines, which reduce inflammation and promote health
• Other health-promoting mechanisms include:
  • Decreasing fat and reducing unhealthy cytokine production
  • Decreasing abdominal obesity and reducing blood pressure and lipid levels
  • Increasing bone density and improving insulin sensitivity

Exercise Guidelines

• Comprehensive program of physical activity:
  • Increase daily unstructured PA
  • Incorporate structured PA, including:
    • Aerobic exercise (30 minutes, 5 times/week, moderate intensity)
    • Resistance training (8-10 exercises, 2-3 times/week)
    • Flexibility and balance exercises (2-3 times/week)
• Note: More than 60 minutes of daily aerobic exercise may be needed to induce weight loss and maintain a healthy body weight

Risks of Excessive Exercise

• Excessive exercise may increase the risk of:
  • Orthopedic problems (stress fractures)
  • Impaired immune function
  • Exercise-induced asthma
  • Osteoporosis
  • Heat illness and kidney failure
  • Heart attack (in individuals who are habitually inactive)

General Guidelines for Exercise

• Level I: 30 minutes daily, low-intensity
• Level II: 3-6 days/week, 20-50 minutes, 50-85% increase in heart rate
• Level III: 3-7 days/week, stretching to increase fitness
• Level IV: 2-3 days/week, resistance activities
• Level V: physical inactivity (e.g., TV watching)

This quiz covers the basics of physical fitness, health-related fitness, and physical activity. It explores the components of health-related fitness, including body composition, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility.