r OBJECTIVES<br > Define physical fitness and list the components<br > of health-related and skill-related fitness.<br > Define wellness and be able to differentiate<br > between physical fitness and wellness，<br > Identify the major health problems in the United<br > States.<br > Understand the benefits and the significance of<br > participating in a lifetime fitness and wellness<br > program.<br > I Identify risk factors that may interfere with safe exercise participation，<br > r Learn to assess heart rate and blood pressure.<br > A widespread interest in health and preventive diseases of infancy. Progress in the field of medicine<br > medicine over the last two decades has led to a has allowed for elimination of these diseases.<br > tremendous increase in the number of individuals Nevertheless， as the American people started to<br > Who participate in fitness and wellness programs， enjoy the so-called "good life" (sedenta~3， living，<br > l~rom an initial fitness fad in the early 1970s， physi- alcohol， fatty foods， excessive sweets， tobacco，<br > eal fitness and wellness programs have become a drugs， etc.)， a parallel increase was seen in the inci-<br > trend that is now very much a part of the American dencc of chronic diseases such as hypertension，<br > way of life. The increase in the number of partici- coronary heart disease， atherosclerosis， strokes，<br >pants is primarily attributed to scientific evidence diabetes， cancel ， emphysema， and cirrhosis of the<br >linking regular exercise and positive lifestyle habits liver (see Figure 1.1 ).<br > to better health， improved quality of life， and total As the incidence of chronic diseases increased， it<br >well-being.<br > became clear that prevention was the best medicine.<br > Research findings in the last few years have shown Consequently， a new fitness and wellness trend has<br >that physical inactivio， and negative lifestyle habits gradually developed over the last two decades.<br >are a serious threat to the health of the nation. Move- People began to realize that good beahh is largely<br >ment and activity are basic functions needed by the self-controlled and that the leading causes of pre-<br >human organism to grow， develop， and maintain mature death and illness in the United States could<br >health. However， advances in moden7 technology be prevented through adherence to positive lifestyle<br >have almost completely eliminated the need )~br physi- habits.<br >cal exertion in almost evetwone s daily life. The auto-<br >mated society in which we live no longer provides<br >the body with sufficient activity to insure adequate<br >health， but rather increases the deterioration rate<br >of the human body， ~<br > At the beginning of the twentieth century; the Over the years， physical fitness has been defined in<br >most Common health problems in the United States several ways and has meant different things to di f-<br >Were such infectious diseases as tuberculosis， diph- ferent people. Initially， health care practitioncr~<br >theria， influenza， kidney disease， polio， and other simply defined fitness as the absence of disease. Ol~<br >