Physical activity is movement that is carried out by the skeletal muscles that requires energy. In other words, any movement one does is actually physical activity.

Exercise, however, is planned, structured, repetitive and intentional movement intended to improve or maintain physical fitness. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity.

It is been established by research that any Physical activity done on a regular basis contributes to overall health and well-being.  Exercise specifically works on the improvement of physical fitness, which consists of five components

• Cardiorespiratory fitness
• Muscular strength fitness
• Muscular endurance fitness
• Flexibility fitness
• Body composition

Every one now knows that a minimum of 30 minutes of daily exercise is essential for good health. But only doing exercise and spending the day just sitting will not benefit. The latest research shows that how much time we spend sitting could be just as important as how much time we exercise. A new term is coined to describe such individuals  ‘Active Couch Potatoes’ Though they are not as lazy as the ‘Couch  Potatoes’, they spend most of their time sitting during work, while commuting and after work at home or on weekends and holidays. They are almost inactive throughout the day except for their daily exercise routine. Although these routines are beneficial, being inactive for the rest of the day is an invitation to many diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has indentified Physical Inactivity as an independent risk factor for chronic disease development, and it is now the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.

This graphic from the American Institute for Cancer Research visually depicts the importance of both daily physical activity AND structured exercise (in relation to cancer indicators). Here, the green reflects structured exercise, while the yellow reflects daily physical activity.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

So become more physically active by incorporating small changes in your sedentary lifestyle.

• Walk as much possible your way to the work and back home by getting down 1 or 2 stops earlier from bus or taxi
• Create a work station that requires you to stand or walk around
• You can go for a walk during lunch breaks and tea breaks
• Set the timer on your computer to remind you every 60 minutes that it’s time to step away from your desk and take a short walk down the hall.
• “Walk with me.” Got a quick thing to discuss with a co-worker? Instead of sending an email, ask him or her to join you for a walk to hash it out on the go.
• During all phone calls and phone meetings, stand up and walk around.
• Plan some physical activities during weekends like biking, hiking or just going for long walks instead of a long drive.
• Try to do household chores daily or every alternate days instead of keeping it for weekends

Many individuals also think that as they are physically active throughout the day, they don’t need to exercise, which is also not right. Going for daily walks is not an exercise unless you do it in your ‘Target heart rate zone’ and for proper duration. Any physical activity is not an exercise unless it improves all or any one of the above mentioned five components. Exercise also follows the rule of specificity. That is, if you do strength training exercises, it will improve your muscle strength and if you do cardio or aerobic exercises, it will improve your cardiovascular fitness. Stretching improves muscle flexibility; And strength training, cardio and proper diet will improve body composition.

To achieve optimum health and improve physical fitness, plan accordingly so that it includes Daily Increased Physical Activity and Structured, Planned, Intentional Exercise Program.

So while walking, gardening, doing household chores, shopping etc are physical activities, brisk walking, Jogging, running, cycling, rowing, (performed with proper intensity and duration) strength training, Pilates, Yoga, playing sports, is termed as exercise.

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