HealthInfo Canterbury
Overview of keeping active
Tirohanga o 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
- sleep better
- manage your weight
- have stronger bones and muscles
- prevent or manage health conditions such as 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 Ministry of Health page has more specific recommendations for different age groups.
You don’t 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 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 can't do 30 minutes in one go, try doing two lots of 15 minutes or three lots of 10 minutes.
Find activities you enjoy
You're 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 May 2020.
SourcesReview key: HIKEA-53695
