HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury

Overview of keeping active

Tirohanga whānui ki te korikori tinana

Keeping physically active is one of the best things you can do for your health. Regular physical activity can help you:

• feel better and have more energy
• feel more relaxed and less stressed
• improve your mood
• improve your memory and attention span
• sleep better
• manage your weight
• have better posture and balance
• have stronger bones and muscles
• prevent or manage many health conditions. These include heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, arthritis, anxiety and depression.

Be active every day

Everyone should do at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity activity spread throughout the week. One way to do this is to do 30 minutes most days of the week.

Moderate-intensity activity means your heart and breathing rate will increase but you should still be able to have a conversation. Moderate-intensity activities include walking briskly, swimming, cycling, dancing and gardening.

This Active Canterbury page has more specific recommendations for different age groups.

You do not need to join a gym or play a sport to be active. Try adding more activity into your daily routine by doing things like walking your dog, taking the stairs instead of the lift or walking your tamariki (children) to school. For more ideas, see Getting more activity into your day.

Being active for small amounts of time throughout the day is as effective as doing it in one go. So, if you cannot do 30 minutes in 1 go, try doing 2 lots of 15 minutes or 3 lots of 10 minutes.

Find activities you enjoy

You are more likely to stick with an activity you find fun and rewarding. No activity is better than another, so find what works best for you. The Greater Christchurch sport and recreation guide can help you find an activity. It has information about all the sports clubs, parks, classes, groups and programmes in your area.

  HealthInfo recommends the following pages

• Active Canterbury – Karawhiua! An active soul is a healthy soul

  Information about being active for whānau (families).

On the next page: Starting to be more active

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed February 2024.

Sources

Page reference: 202480

Review key: HIKEA-53695