Health vs. Fitness: Has Perfection Become the Enemy of Good?

Many times, in trying to support and promote healthy lifestyle choices for larger populations, we confuse health with fitness. The U.S. fitness industry is so loud that it often drowns out simpler, more accessible health messages. What if we could get everyone to understand that just three minutes of moderately vigorous movement each day is enough to improve health? Unfortunately, many people have given up on the idea of good health and a longer, more productive life because they feel they can't achieve an idealized image of perfect fitness. When it comes to population health, perfect has truly become the enemy of good. A recent study supports this notion, finding that even small amounts of moderate-intensity, unstructured physical activity—such as housework, commuting, or job-related movement—can significantly reduce the risk of major cardiac events and death (Stamatakis et al., 2025).

Stamatakis, E., Biswas, R. K., et al. (2025). Dose response of incidental physical activity against cardiovascular events and mortality. Circulation, 151(15). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.034683