Health & Fitness (AQA GCSE Physical Education (PE))

Health & Fitness

Health

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as:

A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

• Health encompasses various aspects including:

  • cardiovascular fitness

  • muscular strength and endurance

  • flexibility

  • mental well-being

• Additionally, health is impacted by overall lifestyle choices that contribute to optimal functioning and quality of life

• Ill health refers to being in a state of poor physical, mental and/or social well-being

Fitness

• Fitness is defined as:

The ability to meet the demands of the environment

• The environment can place a variety of demands on a person meaning that different fitness levels are required

  • Those living a sedentary lifestyle have a lower fitness demand than those living a highly active lifestyle

• Fitness can be broken down into

  • Health-related components: such as flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance

  • Skills-related components: such as agility, speed, coordination, power, balance, reaction time

The Relationship Between Health & Fitness

• The relationship between fitness and health is cyclical

• A good fitness level increases the ability of a person to cope with the demands of daily life

  • Good fitness promotes good health

  • Physical and mental fitness are then improved

  • This promotes ongoing and /or improving levels of fitness

  • It also minimises the likelihood of ill health or disease

    • However, it does not remove the chances of becoming unwell entirely

    • Fitness can be increased if a person is still able to train despite ill health

• Decreased fitness can occur because of ill health

  • Poor health can result in an inability to train

  • This results in lower fitness levels

• It is also worth noting that overtraining can result in decreased fitness as the body is more prone to illness

• Individuals should adopt a balanced approach to physical education and lifestyle choices to maximise overall health and fitness