Programs that promote the benefits of an active lifestyle and encourage people of all ages to participate in regular physical activity as a means of improving health, preventing disease and enhancing the overall quality of their lives. The programs may be tailored for specific populations such as children, adolescents, older adults, employees or people with disabilities; and generally explain why physical activity is important, offer suggestions regarding easy ways to integrate physical activity into a daily routine (such as taking the stairs, going for a walk or parking further away than one usually does), describe specific benefits that can be experienced (such as building strong bones, strengthening muscles, maintaining flexibility, achieving and maintaining ideal weight, maintaining cardiovascular health, meeting new friends and improving physical self-esteem), and provide guidelines for the type and level of activity that is required to develop and maintain fitness or achieve other health-related goals.

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Programs that improve the public's understanding of mental health and mental illness and help people make choices which promote personal mental health, take advantage of opportunities for early detection, develop an awareness of available treatment options and support their ability to deal with mental health problems when they arise. General mental health information/education programs provide information about a wide variety of mental health related diagnoses rather than specializing in a particular area; and may develop and disseminate materials whose objective is to dispel misconceptions about the nature of mental illness, marshal support for people who have a psychiatric disability or behavioural issue and help to remove the stigma that is often associated with mental illness.

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