How Does Physical Activity Affect Your Health?

Physical activity has a direct and wide-ranging impact on your health, influencing everything from your heart and muscles to your sleep, weight, energy levels and long-term disease risk.

This became particularly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people became more sedentary, exercised less, and increased their food and alcohol intake. These lifestyle changes were linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes, including a significant rise in anxiety and depression worldwide.

For expats and globally mobile individuals, staying active can be especially challenging. Busy work schedules, long commutes, frequent travel and unfamiliar environments can all make regular exercise harder to prioritise. However, the evidence is clear: making time for physical activity is one of the most effective ways to protect your long-term health.

In this article

1. How does physical activity improve your health?
2. How exercise reduces the risk of serious illness
3. How much physical activity do you need?
4. How expats can build physical activity into everyday life
5. FAQs about physical activity and health

How does physical activity improve your health?

Regular physical activity benefits almost every system in the body. Over time, it helps to:

• Improve heart and lung function
• Lower blood pressure and cholesterol
• Strengthen muscles and bones
• Support healthy weight management
• Improve sleep quality
• Reduce the risk of early death

Physical activity also helps regulate hormones and improves how the body uses insulin, which plays an important role in preventing chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

As metabolism naturally slows with age, staying active becomes even more important for maintaining strength, mobility and energy levels.

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How exercise reduces the risk of serious illness

Engaging in moderate physical activity for just a few hours each week has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of several major diseases, including:

• Heart disease and stroke
• Type 2 diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Colon cancer

Research from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also shows that people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing endometrial and lung cancer compared with those who are inactive.

One long-term study by University of Minnesota researchers followed over 36,000 women for 16 years and found that those with higher levels of physical activity were significantly less likely to develop lung cancer than those who exercised less.

Recent research continues to reinforce this: a large long-term study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that engaging in a variety of physical activities regularly lowers the risk of premature death, even independent of intensity — suggesting mixing activities is protective.

How physical activity supports brain health and ageing

Physical activity doesn’t just benefit the body. It also plays a key role in maintaining brain health as we age.

A large Australian review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined 36 studies and found that a wide range of activities, including aerobic exercise, resistance training and lower-impact practices such as Tai Chi, had positive effects on brain function.

These benefits included improvements in:

• Memory
• Planning and organisational skills
• Reading and reasoning abilities

The researchers found that exercising moderately for around an hour on most days of the week improved memory and thinking skills in adults aged over 50.

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How much physical activity do you need?

The good news is that physical activity does not need to be intense or time-consuming to be effective. The amount of exercise you need depends on your age and overall health, but general guidelines are consistent across many countries.

Exercise guidelines for adults

Healthy adults are advised to aim for:

• At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or
• 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or
• A combination of both

In addition, adults should do muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days a week, focusing on major muscle groups such as the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest and shoulders.

Exercise guidelines for children

Children under the age of five should be physically active for at least 3 hours spread throughout the day. This can include walking, playing outside, cycling, swimming and active play.

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Why muscle-strengthening activity matters

Muscle-strengthening exercises help to maintain mobility, balance and independence as you age. They also help protect bone density and joint health.

Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include:

• Lifting weights
• Body-weight exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups
• Resistance band exercises
• Heavy gardening, such as digging
• Yoga or Pilates

Muscle-strengthening activity has been shown to improve bone health, reduce injury risk and support everyday functional movement.

The health risks of being sedentary

Being physically inactive carries its own health risks, even for people who exercise occasionally.

World Health Organization research suggests that spending 9.5 hours or more per day sitting (excluding sleep) is associated with a higher risk of early death.

Prolonged sitting has been linked to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes and poor metabolic health.

Breaking up long periods of sitting with short bouts of movement, stretching or walking can help reduce these risks.

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Moderate vs vigorous exercise: what’s the difference?

Moderate activity raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, but you should still be able to talk. Examples include:

• Brisk walking
• Gentle swimming
• Cycling at a steady pace
• Mowing the lawn
• Cleaning (vacuuming, mopping etc)

Vigorous activity causes your heart to beat much faster and your breathing to become heavier. Examples include:

• Running or jogging
• Hiking uphill
• Playing sports such as football or tennis
• Fast cycling

As a general rule, 75 minutes of vigorous activity provides similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate activity.

How physical activity benefits people over 50

As we get older, physical activity becomes increasingly important for maintaining independence and quality of life.

Low-impact aerobic exercise and bone-strengthening activities help slow the natural loss of bone density that occurs with age. This reduces the risk of conditions such as osteoporosis and arthritis.

The CDC reports that just 2 hours of moderate exercise per week can lower the risk of hip fractures and improve quality of life for people living with arthritis.

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How expats can build physical activity into everyday life

There’s no single “right” way to be active. The best approach is one that fits your lifestyle and is sustainable long-term.

Living abroad can make regular exercise feel harder to maintain. Busy work schedules, long commutes, frequent travel, unfamiliar environments and different fitness cultures can all disrupt routines.

However, expat life also creates everyday opportunities to move more without needing structured workouts.

Starting small, choosing activities you enjoy and gradually increasing intensity or duration can make it easier to stay consistent.

Here’s a practical checklist of simple, realistic ways expats can build more physical activity into daily life:

1. Use active travel where possible – Walk or cycle to work, shops or local amenities, especially when exploring a new city rather than relying on taxis or public transport.
2. Turn exploration into exercise – Sightseeing on foot, hiking local trails, beach walks or cycling routes all count as meaningful physical activity.
3. Build movement into the working day – Take walking meetings, stand during calls, stretch between tasks or take short movement breaks during long periods at a desk.
4. Break up long periods of sitting – Set reminders to stand, walk or stretch every 30–60 minutes, particularly when working remotely or across time zones.
5. Make everyday tasks more active – Carry groceries, take the stairs, do household chores at a brisk pace or garden where possible.
6. Use short workouts when time is limited – Ten-minute body-weight sessions, hotel-room workouts or quick walks can add up across the week.
7. Join local classes or groups – Fitness classes, walking groups or community sports can help you stay active while meeting people and settling into a new location.
8. Choose activities you enjoy – Enjoyment increases consistency. Whether it’s swimming, yoga, cycling or dancing, regular movement matters more than intensity.

Small, consistent changes like these can make it much easier for expats to stay active, even with demanding schedules or frequent travel.

Every minute of movement can count toward better health.

Frequently asked questions about physical activity and health

What is considered physical activity?

Physical activity includes any bodily movement that uses energy, such as walking, cycling, sports, housework and gardening.

How does physical activity affect long-term health?

Regular physical activity lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and early death, while supporting strength, mobility and independence as you age.

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How soon do health benefits appear after becoming active?

Some benefits, like better sleep and reduced anxiety, can appear after a single session, while long-term disease risk reduction builds over months of consistent activity.

Can I split my weekly activity into short sessions?

Yes. Activity can be accumulated in shorter bouts throughout the week and still count toward weekly totals.

Is any physical activity better than none?

Absolutely. Even small increases in activity improve health, especially for people who are currently inactive.

Is it ever too late to become more active?

No. Research shows health benefits at any age, even when physical activity is increased later in life.

This article is for general information only and is not intended as medical or professional advice. Physical activity needs can vary, particularly when living or working abroad. If you have a medical condition or concerns about starting or changing your activity levels, it’s best to seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

Wherever you go, go with total peace of mind

At William Russell, we have over 30 years’ experience of helping expatriates finding best places in the world to move abroad and settle into their new lives overseas by providing world-class international health insurance. Plus, we produce lots of expert material to help you and your family adapt to life abroad.

Making the move to another country can be challenging. But no matter where you go, you can take one thing off your mind. William Russell offers international health insurance that covers you for everything from minor injuries to long hospital stays, and we can even offer medical evacuations to patients who require emergency life or limb-saving treatment in other countries, where it’s not available locally.

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