Fit Tip: Quality of Life
Happy Sunday!
Did you find time to relax and enjoy yourself over the weekend? Are you looking forward to the week ahead? Sometimes we get so involved in our daily routines that we don’t ask ourselves why we do the things we do, or what we would like to do differently. We don’t evaluate our quality of life. It’s not unusual for health conscious people to think about how to add years to their lives. If you would also like to add life to your years, read on.
Improve Your Quality of Life With Physical Activity
According to the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), quality of life pertains to a person’s physical and psychological health, and covers four basic areas:
· Health status: The ability to avoid illness or chronic disease.
· Social and recreational opportunities: The ability to stay socially involved with others.
· Maintaining a state of overall wellbeing: The ability to feel good about oneself both physically and mentally, and to be generally satisfied with life.
· Financial stability: The ability to have enough money to help maintain one’s health and home, and fund social and recreational activities.
Research indicates that a person’s overall quality of life can be improved with physical activity. With regard to health status, it is well known that exercise can help a person improve and maintain his or her health, and even reverse some health problems. Furthermore, physically active people can enhance their social and recreational opportunities by joining a sports team, fitness facility or exercise class, or by meeting friends for a walk or a tennis game. With regard to overall wellbeing, studies consistently show that exercise can improve mood and decrease stress and anxiety. In addition, two 2005 studies showed that women who started an exercise program developed a new, positive exercise identity and had better self-acceptance. Finally, it appears that regular exercise can even positively affect financial stability. In a 2002 study, people who exercised three to four times a week reported higher job performance, and in a 2001 study, exercisers had lower absenteeism, thereby increasing the likelihood of financially stability.
As you can see, the potential rewards of becoming and staying physically active are far-reaching. For that reason, I hope you will commit to becoming more active today. Have a healthy, active and productive week.
Leslye