Skip main navigation

Physical activity

Physical activity and exercise affect our health and links have been made to our risk of cardiovascular disease. Watch Dr Oonagh Markey explain more.

As with our diet, it’s widely known that physical activity levels affect our health. Not only do activity levels impact on our energy balance – and thus weight – other links have been made between what we do, or don’t do, and our risk of cardiovascular disease.

In this video, Dr Oonagh Markey discusses how both physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are linked to cardiovascular disease and what we can do to try and prevent it.

You can download the Week 4 supplement, which contains additional images and descriptions to help you understand the topics covered in this video.

British Heart Foundation resources

How has getting more active helped other people, of all ages, fight heart disease? Find out more through the following series of 6 videos Get up and go produced by the British Heart Foundation.

This article is from the free online

Heart Health: A Beginner's Guide to Cardiovascular Disease

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now