Whether you’re young or old, you need to keep moving! No matter you’re doing brisk walks, running on a treadmill, bicycling, doing yard work or even playing a softball game, physical activity should be a vital part of your life, at least this is the latest message of the US Department of Health and Human Services made public this week.

The message strongly encourages adults to do 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity a week. That should include walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing or gardening. When it comes to children, the new guidelines recommend an hour or more of moderate-intensity to vigorous aerobic physical activity each day.

Pregnant women or very old people should also keep moving as much as their condition allows them. The important thing is to be active as much as possible and to choose “an activity that’s easy for you to fit into your life,” advised US secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt. “You just need to get moving.” Pregnant women should keep moving, as exercise “can not only improve health of the mother but also provides potential long-term benefits for the child,” James Pivarnik of Michigan State University in East Lansing said.

“Be active!” is not a message that we hear for the first time. Health care providers and not only have long recommended physical activity as a way of relaxing, forget about stressful days at work, and finally yet importantly as a way to maintain ourselves fit and healthy. Recent research has shown that regular exercise helps prevent a range of health problems such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and the list could go on.

“The evidence is clear – regular physical activity over months and years produces long-term health benefits and reduces the risk of many diseases,” Leavitt said.

The new guidelines come at a time when the US confronts itself with a high rate of obesity, as one in four Americans is obese. While in 2005, 23.9 percent of US adults were obese or had a body mass index greater than 30, in 2007, the percentage had grown to 25.6 percent. This percentage translates in more than 60 million adults. Poor diet and a lack of exercise are blamed. The situation is even worse in kids’ case. About a third are overweight and 16 percent are obese and things won’t stop here as schools are decreasing the amount of gym time and the calories in their favorite foods keep sharply increasing.

Why are we here? Well, it’s not too hard to guess. According to latest studies on the issue, 60 percent of adults do not exercise enough, while 25 percent do not exercise at all. That puts them at risk for chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease and premature death. Rates of diabetes and heart disease appear to have risen as well in the United States.

Maybe it’s not too late to have a look on the new guidelines and finally do something good for our health.