Benefits

There are many benefits to be obtained from regular physical activity. Not only will you look better and feel better about yourself, but you will also be contributing to the prevention of many health risks and diseases. A powerful statistic is:

"being physically inactive has the same impact on your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes each day?" - Dr. Nick Busing, College of Family Physicians of Canada

There has been an overwhelming amount of research that supports the many benefits of physical activity. We have categorized the benefits into areas we thought may be of interest to you. Just click on one of the sidebar links to find out the benefits of physical activity.

By being physically active you gain physical, social and emotional benefits Specifically, you will notice:

• better health
• improved fitness
• better posture and balance
• better self esteem
• reduced body fat
• stronger muscles and bones
• feel more energetic
• improved relaxation and reduced stress
• continued independent living in later life

The health risks of not being active include:

• premature death
• heart disease
• obesity
• high blood pressure
• Type II diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Stroke
• Depression
• Colon cancer

If we could increase the level of physical activity by 10% nationally, we could save the health care system 5 billion dollars!