Fitness

Fitness - All Articles

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While fitness can look different for everyone, how your body functions on a daily basis can offer clues: Can you walk up stairs without getting winded and carry your groceries with ease? Ultimately, physical fitness is one of the pillars of good health, and whether you exercise and how you do it can affect your fitness level.

?Exercise itself offers health benefits, from better sleep to a sunnier mood, as well as a lower risk of chronic disease.

Common Questions & Answers

What is the difference between exercise and fitness?

Fitness refers to what your body can do, including your muscle strength and how quickly you can move. Exercise, on the other hand, refers to organized and intentional physical activity, such as brisk walking, cycling, strength training, and stretching, all of which can improve your fitness level.

Exercise is a healthy habit. Its short-term benefits include a brighter mood and better sleep. In the long term, regular exercise can lower your risk of chronic diseases such as dementia, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

The five components of physical fitness are: cardiorespiratory fitness (measured by VO2 max), musculoskeletal fitness (including muscle strength), flexibility, balance, and speed.

Meet Our Experts In Fitness
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Everyday Health’s team of board-certified physicians and health professionals contribute to the creation and review of content, ensuring that the information is useful, up-to-date, and accurate.
Kara-Andrew-bio

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is?the director of health promotion for?Memorial Hospital?in Carthage, Illinois.?She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.?She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

See full bio
Kara-Andrew-bio

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is?the director of health promotion for?Memorial Hospital?in Carthage, Illinois.?She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.?She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

See full bio
See Our Editorial PolicyMeet Our Health Expert Network
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Resources
  1. Caspersen CJ et al. Physical Activity, Exercise, and Physical Fitness: Definitions and Distinctions for Health-Related Research. Public Health Reports. March–April 1985.
  2. Health Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity. National Institute on Aging.

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