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National Physical Activity Guidelines

National Physical Activity Guidelines

Being physically active is so important for our health and well-being with many benefits including lower risk of; early death, stroke, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and weight gain.

Adults ages 18-64 are recommended to do 30 minutes of moderate activity most days (about 150 minutes a week). Activities such as brisk walking, dancing, gardening, housework and other domestic chores can be defined as moderate activities. Vigorous activities include running, hill walking, fast swimming, fast cycling and competitive sports such as hurling, rugby, hockey and soccer. A mixture of moderate and vigorous activity is recommended.

 The National Physical Activity Plan

The National Physical Activity Plan was launched in January 2016 (and updated in 2022) with the key target is to increase the number of people taking regular exercise by 1% a year over ten years – that’s around 50,000 people every year or half a million in total – by making exercise a normal part of everyday life and giving people more opportunities to be active.

UCD is linking with the National Activity Plan in several ways, encouraging participation by students, staff and our community through:

  • The promotion of using the woodland walks on UCD campus
  • Introduction of kilometre marking on sections of the woodland walk
  • Provision of high class sports grounds, sports facilities and swimming pool
  • Provision of a range of physical activities to suit all tastes, including (opens in a new window)dance, Marchathon, Tag rugby, etc.

Click here to check out the fitness options at UCD, including pay as you go options

Healthy UCD

University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland
E: healthyucd@ucd.ie |