Fitness in your 20s

It's easy to ignore an exercise regime when you think you're already fit, says Sam Murphy, but it's great insurance for the future

You're in your 20s - you never seem to stop running around, you eat what you like without gaining weight, your energy levels are high and your health seems great - so why bother with exercise? Bob Smith, director of analysis and performance in sport at Loughborough University says 'this is the decade when you can develop maximum strength, endurance and flexibility, which you'll find much harder to achieve later on.'

The time is now

Starting good habits now bodes well for future health. Many of us forget that the purpose of exercise is more to do with health issues rather than fitting into size 10 jeans. You might not have to worry about your weight now, but statistics show that as a nation we're getting fatter. More than half the adult population is now overweight with more than 10 per cent of men and women classified as obese.

And with that comes a host of health problems, including a higher risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes. Severely overweight people are also more prone to musculoskeletal problems, such as osteoarthritis and back pain.

'It's not so much what we're doing that's causing the problem, as what we're not doing,' says Ben Wilde, a sport psychologist and group fitness manager for Esporta Health Clubs. 'People are becoming increasingly inactive in the UK.' Research shows that we are eating an average of 500 calories a day less than we did in the 1950s, yet people are getting heavier. The reason is that we use our bodies less, and expend less energy on a daily basis.