Reviewed: Jessica Passador and Kate Kaegi, Oncology Dieticians at Austin Health
And take care to:
It is also important to:
See also our healthy eating guidelines for full details of how many serves of vegetables, fruit, cereals, meat and dairy you should be including in a balanced diet (and what comprises 'a serve' of each).
The following guidelines, from the Department of Health and Ageing (2010), are for healthy Australian adults. If you are or have been ill with cancer, talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
People don't exercise as much as they used to, thanks to cars, machinery, TVs and DVDs and computers. Yet our need for exercise is as important as it was for our ancestors. Exercising reduces the risk of obesity and other health problems.
Think of exercise as a good thing: it is! Be active every day in as many ways as you can. Being active in small ways is likely to provide health advantages to almost all people, irrespective of age, body weight, health condition or disability.
Here are some ideas about how to increase the amount of exercise you do every day:
Remember: some activity is better than none, and more is better than a little.
Moderate-intensity activity includes such things as a brisk walk or cycling. It's exercise that causes a slight, but noticeable, increase in breathing and heart rate. A good example is brisk walking at a pace where you are able to comfortably talk but not sing. Other examples include mowing the lawn, digging in the garden, or medium-paced swimming or cycling.
Combine short sessions of different activities of around 10 to 15 minutes each, to a total of 30 minutes or more.
Moderate-intensity activity doesn't have to be continuous. Improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight can result from moderate-intensity activities of at least 30 minutes a day on most days, or doing 30 minutes continuously.
To keep it enjoyable, make the exercise part of work, family, community or social life.
Vigorous exercise makes you ‘huff and puff': it's when you're exercising and find that talking between breaths is difficult. Good examples are football, squash, netball and basketball, and activities such as aerobics, circuit training, speed walking, jogging, fast cycling or brisk rowing.
For best results, this should be added to the above guidelines on three to four days a week for 30 minutes or more each time. Vigorous exercise will increase your fitness (moderate-intensity exercise probably won't). It also provides extra protection against heart disease.
Children and teenagers under the age of 18 should do regular vigorous activity. Women who are pregnant are not advised to exercise vigorously.