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. 2019 Nov 11;7(1):7–15. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.12849

Table 1.

PA‐related concepts definitions

Concept Definition
Physical fitness or physical capacity Set of attributes that people have or achieve. Can be either health‐ or skill‐related.5, 10, 24
Physically fit The ability to perform moderate‐to‐vigorous levels of PA without undue fatigue and the capability of maintaining this capacity throughout life.5, 25 It positively correlates with physical function.5, 10
Physical function The ability to carry out activities that involve bodily movement, ranging from basic self‐care tasks to social activities, that require a combination of skills.9 Can be approached as an individual's physical behavior in real life, “physical activity,” or as the ability of the person to perform a specific task, “physical performance.”9
Physical performance The ability to perform specific functional tests or tasks.9
Physical activity Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.5, 9, 10
Exercise A subset of PA, characterized by: (1) being planned, structured, and involving repetitive bodily movements; (2) not following a conservative energy consumption approach; and (3) always intended to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness, even if the participant is not continuously aware of it.5, 10