If you want to feel fit you’d better go in for one kind of sport or another. I should admit that everyone must do all he can to be healthy. Good health is better than the best medicine. "You have a sound mind in a sound body" as the old Latin saying goes. The English proverb "Sickness in the body brings sickness to the mind" expresses a similar idea but from different point of view. All kinds of physical exercises are very useful to make our bodies strong and to keep ourselves fit and healthy

Keeping Fit The fitness boom of the past decades led to a big rise in the numbers of people participating in sports and other physical activities. A healthy body becomes a fashion, an ideal of the life of today. Those who pursue the latest fitness fashion are convinced that staying in good physical form requires much more than regular exercise and balanced meals. For anyone who really wants to be healthy, fitness has become an integral part of their lives.

It is widely known that life expectancy is increasing It is widely known that life expectancy is increasing. Generally, the life of modern man is endangered by many factors. One is the increasing pollution of the environment by industry and transport; another one is sedentary lifestyle of people living in cities and towns, that is, the majority of the population of the planet. The third one is the quality of food we eat and water we drink which results in a lot of diseases. . The only possible way of preserving your health is, therefore, healthy way of life which includes keeping fit, balanced meals, and giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking alcohol, and, of course, drugs.

Exercise Makes Your Heart Happy You may remember that your heart is a muscle. It works hard, pumping blood every day of your life. You can help this important muscle get stronger by doing aerobic exercise. Aerobic means "with air," so aerobic exercise is a kind of activity that requires oxygen. When you breathe, you take in oxygen, and, if you're doing aerobic exercise, you may notice you're breathing faster than normal. Aerobic activity can get your heart pumping, make you sweaty, and quicken your breathing. When your give your heart this kind of workout on a regular basis, your heart will get even better at its main job - delivering oxygen to all parts of your body. So you want to do some aerobic exercise right now? Try swimming, basketball, ice or roller hockey, jogging (or walking quickly), in-line skating, soccer, cross-country skiing, biking, or rowing. And don't forget that skipping, jumping rope, and playing hopscotch are all aerobic activities!

5 RULES TO LIVE BY! Rule #1 Eat a variety of foods, especially fruits & vegetables. You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. If you eat different foods, you're more likely to get the nutrients your body needs. Taste new foods & old ones you haven't tried for a while. Some foods, such as green veggies, are more pleasing the older you get. Shoot for at least 5 servings of fruits & vegetables a day — 2 fruits + 3 vegetables. Here's one combination that might work for you: At breakfast: ½ cup (about 4 large) strawberries on your cereal At lunch: 6 baby carrots At dinner: ½ cup broccoli (about 2 big spears) + 1 cup of salad

Rule #2 Drink water & milk often. When you're really thirsty, cold water is the #1 thirst-quencher. And there's a reason your school cafeteria offers cartons of milk. Peoples need calcium to grow strong bones, and milk is a great source of this mineral. How much do peoples need? Aim for 3 cups of milk per day. You can mix it up by having milk + some other calcium-rich dairy foods. For example: 2 cups (about half a liter) of low-fat or nonfat milk 1 slice cheddar cheese ½ cup (small container) of yogurt

Rule #3 Listen to your body. What does it feel like to be full? When you're eating, notice how your body feels & when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don't notice when they need to stop eating. Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and, over a period of time, can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

Rule #4 Limit “SCREEN” time. What's screen time? It's the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing video games (console systems or handheld games), and using the computer. The more time you spend on these sitting-down activities, the less time available for active stuff, like basketball, bike riding, running, and swimming. Try to spend less than 2 hours a day on screen time, not counting computer use related to school.

Find ways to be active every day. Rule #5 BE ACTIVE!!! One job you have as a people — and it's a fun one — is that you get to figure out which activities you like best. Not everyone loves baseball or soccer. Maybe your passion is karate, or kickball, or dancing. Ask your parents to help you do your favorite activities regularly. Find ways to be active every day. You might even write down a list of fun stuff to do, so you can refer to it when your mom or dad says it's time to STOP watching TV or playing computer games!

Thanks for your attention