Physical fitness
Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities.
[3] Before the Industrial Revolution, fitness was defined as the capacity to carry out the day's activities without undue fatigue or lethargy.
[5] Around 1950, perhaps consistent with the Industrial Revolution and the treatise of World War II, the term "fitness" increased in western vernacular by a factor of ten.
Regarding specific function, fitness is attributed to persons who possess significant aerobic or anaerobic ability (i.e., endurance or strength).
A comprehensive fitness program tailored to an individual typically focuses on one or more specific skills,[7] and on age-[8] or health-related needs such as bone health.
[11] Physical fitness can also prevent or treat many other chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging as well and has been listed frequently as one of the most popular and advantageous self-care therapies.
[13] Developing research has demonstrated that many of exercise's benefits are mediated through the role of skeletal muscle as an endocrine organ.
These guidelines recommend that all adults should move more and sit less throughout the day to improve health-related quality of life including mental, emotional, and physical health.
Additional health benefits may be achieved by engaging in more than 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity per week.
[16] Guidelines in the United Kingdom released in July 2011 include the following points: The intensity at which a person exercises is key, and light activity such as strolling and house work is unlikely to have much positive impact on the health of most people.
These include, among others: For physical fitness activity to benefit an individual, the exertion must trigger a sufficient amount of stimuli.
The person may overall feel better, but the physical effects on the human body take weeks or months to notice—and possibly years for full development.
[32] High-intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of repeated, short bursts of exercise, completed at a high level of intensity.
Regular physical activity is a factor that helps reduce an individual's blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels, two key components that correlate with heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
[49] Sex steroid hormones, insulin, and appropriate immune responses are factors that mediate metabolism in relation to abdominal fat.
[58] These trends improve as physical activity is performed on a consistent basis, which makes exercise effective in relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety, positively impacting mental health and bringing about several other benefits.
For example:[59] To achieve some of these benefits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests at least 30–60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week.
from Austria named Hans Kraus began testing children in the U.S. and Europe for what he termed, "Muscular Fitness."
Kraus published some alarming papers in various journals and got the attention of some powerful people, including a senator from Pennsylvania who took the findings to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He set up a series of conferences and committees; then in July 1956, Eisenhower established the President's Council on Youth Fitness.
In Greece, physical fitness was considered to be an essential component of a healthy life and it was the norm for men to frequent a gymnasium.
Physical fitness regimes were also considered to be of paramount importance in a nation's ability to train soldiers for an effective military force.
This movement advocated increased levels of physical fitness for men, women, and children and sought to do so through various forms of indoor and outdoor activity, and education.
