Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that expends energy, while exercise is the planned, structured, and repetitive subset undertaken to improve or maintain fitness. Together they encompass aerobic, resistance, flexibility, and balance training, characterized by frequency, intensity, …
Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that expends energy, while exercise is the planned, structured, and repetitive subset undertaken to improve or maintain fitness. Together they encompass aerobic, resistance, flexibility, and balance training, characterized by frequency, intensity, time, and type, and they exert wide-ranging physiological effects on the cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. Regular activity is a cornerstone of preventive medicine because it lowers the risk of chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers, improves mental health and sleep, and supports functional capacity across the lifespan. Quantifying activity and exercise capacity, and understanding how they modify risk and recovery, are therefore central concerns. Research relevant to this area includes the relationship between daily activity or exercise capacity and cardiovascular risk in congenital heart disease, the effects of physical activity and of aerobic and resistance exercise on sleep in adolescents and adults, behavioural approaches to overweight and obesity, the role of sports and exercise medicine in hypertension, and lifestyle and personal-control measures relevant to activity. Such studies link movement to cardiometabolic and sleep outcomes. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research on physical activity and exercise, their physiological effects, and their role in the prevention and management of chronic disease.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 66 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Physical Activity and Exercise, linking to each citing work.