Physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses energy. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous and add up to at least 30 minutes a day.Moderate physical activity means you are exercising but not pushing or exerting yourself. Your heart is beating, breathing increases, but you won’t break a sweat. Brisk walking, hiking, riding a bike on level terrain and shooting a few baskets are examples of moderate physical activity.
Vigorous physical activity means your heart is beating fast, there is a large increase in breathing (conversation is difficult or broken) and you sweat. Jogging or running, riding your bike uphill and playing a high speed game of basketball are examples of vigorous physical activity.
In future discussions on this blog, I will share materials and equipment as well as give you many ideas of how to include moderate to vigorous physical activity on a daily basis in your program.
Recent studies conclude that children who attend school with more resources and better-educated teachers have significantly higher levels of MVPA. Do you incorporate MVPA in your classroom?
1 comment:
Sharron,
This is great! Congrats on behalf of the IMIL training team. We hope to see you again soon.
Yes, I feel many people have a hard time distinguishing between moderate and vigorous physical activity. The ability to hold a conversation is a good measuring point that is easy for people to understand. This allows people to measure the intensity of the activity relative to their personal conditioning, rather than a general list of activities. What may be light or moderate activity to one, may be very vigorous for another.
This link may be helpful for adults trying to include MVPA as part of their lives: www.health.gov/paguidelines. It has information on the new CDC physical activity guidelines and some information to help adults lead more active lifestyles. The new CDC activity guidelins have given more attention to the amount of physial activity accumulated throughout the week, as opposed to having a daily focus for adults.
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