Fitness quiz: Test your fitness awareness

Fortunately, you can exercise and reach a higher level of fitness at any age — even if you're not fit or active now. However, before you jump into an exercise program, it's wise to visit your doctor. Fatigue, tiring quickly and shortness of breath can be warning signs of other health problems.

Regular physical activity helps children, teens and young adults become physically fit by building muscle mass, strengthening bones and decreasing body fat. This is especially important as the rate of obesity among teens and younger children is increasing at an alarming rate.

Make physical activity part of a healthy lifestyle for you and your family. For example, plan family activities such as hiking, bicycling, playing a backyard game of basketball or swimming at your local community pool. Instead of automatically handing over the car keys to your teen, see if he or she can walk or ride a bike instead.

You don't have to go to the gym or be a fitness maven to get active. Think "activity" instead of "work out," and a lot more fitness possibilities come to mind. Little things such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away and walking, washing your car, walking around the block after dinner — all of these add up.

Thirty minutes of moderately intense physical activity on most days of the week provides many health benefits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. The Institute of Medicine advocates 60 minutes a day.

Some of the health benefits of regular exercise include lower blood pressure, stronger bones and muscles, and a more positive outlook on life. The benefits grow as you increase your exercise intensity or duration. To avoid weight gain, you might need more than 30 minutes of activity every day. In that case, make your goal 60 minutes most days of the week.

Keep in mind that whether it's 30 minutes or 60 minutes, you don't need to sweat them out all in one shot. You can accumulate active time throughout your day.

Take these into account in your exercise program, and you'll be on your way to living a long, healthy life.

• Aerobic fitness is your body's ability to take in and use energy.
• Muscular fitness refers to the strength and endurance of your muscles.
• Flexibility is your ability to bend joints and stretch muscles through their full range of motion.
• Balance is the ability to control your center of gravity over your base of support. Balance training with core exercises improves stability in all of your activities and helps reduce the risk of falls as you grow older.

To maintain a healthy weight, you have to watch what you eat — even if you're exercising regularly. Regular exercise means you're burning more calories on average than you would if you were sedentary. That might seem like a green light to indulge, but be careful. You need to strike a balance between the number of calories you take in and the number of calories you burn through your activities each day.

Pay attention to the kinds of foods you're eating and your portion sizes. Choose a wide variety of foods — including lots of fruits and vegetables — and keep your portion sizes in check to help manage your weight.

Among the many benefits of physical activity, exercise helps prevent:

• Coronary artery disease
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Osteoporosis

Regular physical activity may also help prevent some cancers, such as colon cancer.

It may sound simplistic, but 30 minutes of activity a day can do you a world of good. And the sooner you start, the less you'll need to worry about later.

You're never too old to exercise. Studies indicate that even frail adults in their 80s and 90s benefit from strength training. A strength training program makes your muscles stronger, which protects your joints and makes it easier to do everyday things — such as getting in and out of chairs and walking to the mailbox.

In addition, regular physical activity:

• Improves your breathing capacity
• Keeps you flexible
• Builds your bone mass
• Reduces your risk of falls

In fact, you can't afford not to be active. The older you get, the more your lean muscle mass decreases. The ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver adequate oxygen to your muscles (aerobic capacity) also decreases, as does the elasticity of your joints and ligaments. Staying active as you age increases the likelihood that you'll continue to live independently.

If you're not physically fit, prepare now to start a fitness program. Although it's true you can exercise at any age, talk with your doctor before starting a fitness program if you have a chronic health condition — asthma, high blood pressure or heart disease, for example. And ask your doctor if medications you're taking may affect your exercise plan.

Ready for some good news? You can make up for the loss in health benefits by restarting your regular exercise program. But remember to start slowly. Use extra caution if your exercise program has been interrupted by illness or hospitalization. Make sure it's OK with your doctor before you start.