There are many ways of expressing the same message of the relationship between exercise and health. You could say that physical exercise     1    us of a range of illnesses.     2    , you could say that physical inactivity, or a sedentary lifestyle, is a risk factor for a whole     3    of conditions.

Chronic conditions     4    to inactivity include:

·Heart disease and associated risk factors such as metabolic syndrome, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, smoking and poor nutrition

·Mental health complaints such as     5    and anxiety

·Overweight and obesity

·Cognitive decline and dementia

·Infections related to poor immunity

Physical     6    is a major contributor to the burden of disease in the community. Figures indicate that it ranks second only to tobacco smoking as a cause of disability and death in Australia. Figures are     7    in other affluent countries; in poor countries where things like poor sanitation, malnutrition and HIV are more predominant, the contribution of physical inactivity to the diseases of ageing is less of an issue. In Australia, physical inactivity accounts for 6% of disease in males(second highest factor, after smoking)and 8% in females(highest factor)and contributes to     8    8,000 deaths per year. The figures, however, ignore the contribution that physical inactivity makes towards other risk factors like high blood pressure, obesity and other unhealthy lifestyle factors. On the positive side, smokers who start exercising are more likely to give up smoking and people who     9    smoking sometimes take up exercise for weight control.

For reasons that are not entirely clear, physical activity has a stronger effect on protecting against illness when it is for leisure rather than work, which means we need to be active for a     10    protection of our non-working hours. We can also add to the amount of exercise we do by increasing our incidental or non-structured physical activity, like taking the stairs, using fewer labour-saving devices around the home and walking to and from work or the train station or the bus stop.