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Aerobic Physical Activities

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Nutrition, Fitness, and Mindfulness

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Abstract

Scientific evidence indicates that practicing regular moderate-intensity aerobic physical activities such as walking and cycling is associated with preventive benefits by decreasing the risk of many common diseases, and systematic aerobic exercise training is often beneficial as part of the treatment or rehabilitation for many chronic conditions. On this basis some eminent researchers have named exercise as “the Best Buy of Public Health” and “the Real Polypill.” Therefore, walking has the largest potential to decrease the physical activity gap. Bicycling is another common mode of aerobic physical activity. Scientific evidence indicates that regular cycling, particularly as a mode of transport, offers possibilities to significantly enhance health and fitness. However, safe and convenient cycling requires several individual and environmental conditions to be met. Large-scale increase of walking and cycling calls for comprehensive and collaborative measures such as effective communication of the value of walking and cycling for individuals and the society and development of the environment and services to meet the criteria for adequate “walkability” and “bikeability.”

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  1. The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland

    Ilkka M. Vuori

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  1. Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Jaime Uribarri

  2. The National Kidney Foundation, Inc., New York, NY, USA

    Joseph A. Vassalotti

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Vuori, I.M. (2020). Aerobic Physical Activities. In: Uribarri, J., Vassalotti, J. (eds) Nutrition, Fitness, and Mindfulness. Nutrition and Health. Humana, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30892-6_8

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