Physical Activity Resources
You don't have to be a marathon runner to
benefit from physical activity. For adults, the
“dose” of physical activity to derive health
benefits is 30 minutes a day of moderate
activity, most days of the week. For children
and youth, it’s 90 minutes a day for healthy
growth and development. This physical activity
dose doesn’t have to be all at once – 10 to
15 minutes at a time achieves similar results.
There are three types of activities you need to keep
your body healthy: endurance, flexibility, and strength activities.
Canada’s Physical Activity Guides to Healthy Active
Living provide a range of activities to help you fit
these into your daily routine.
The guide, available from the links on this page or
through your local health authority, gives you and your
family guidance on how to achieve a healthy “dose” of
physical activity.
If you are trying to lose weight, more time or
intensity is required. Maintaining or achieving healthy
weights also requires healthy food choices. Canada’s
Food Guide to Healthy Eating, available from Health
Canada or your local health authority, is an excellent
complementary resource.
People starting an exercise program should check with
their doctor or health professional first.
ActNow BC is about each of us making small choices
that can result in big improvements to our quality of
life. Starting with just 30 minutes of moderate exercise
and five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, we
can dramatically improve our health.
Research tells us that the five risk factors of
physical inactivity, tobacco use, obesity, poor
nutrition and alcohol use during pregnancy are the
causes of serious and preventable chronic diseases, such
as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes,
hypertension, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and some
types of cancer.
Visit the
ActNow BC website for more information.
For additional information, please see:
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