Health & Fitness

• What does the World Health Organisation (WHO) define health as?

  A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
• Health encompasses various aspects including:

  • cardiovascular fitness
  • muscular strength and endurance 
  • flexibility
  • mental well-being
• • Additionally, health is impacted by overall lifestyle choices that contribute to optimal functioning and quality of life
• • Ill health refers to being in a state of poor physical, mental and/or social well-being
• What is the definition of Fitness?

  The ability to meet the demands of the environment
• • Those living a sedentary lifestyle have a lower fitness demand than those living a highly active lifestyle
• Fitness can be broken down into:

  • Health-related components: such as flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance
  • Skills-related components: such as agility, speed, coordination, power, balance, reaction time
• • The relationship between fitness and health is cyclical
• • Decreased fitness can occur because of ill health
  • Poor health can result in an inability to train
  • This results in lower fitness levels
• A good fitness level increases the ability of a person to cope with the demands of daily life

  • Good fitness promotes good health
  • Physical and mental fitness are then improved 
  • This promotes ongoing and /or improving levels of fitness
  • It also minimises the likelihood of ill health or disease
• • It is also worth noting that overtraining can result in decreased fitness as the body is more prone to illness
• • Individuals should adopt a balanced approach to physical education and lifestyle choices to maximise overall health and fitness