The Need To Move
- Posted on: Dec 18 2021
Have you ever heard the saying, “sitting is the new smoking?” Current studies are showing that a sedentary lifestyle, depending on how sedentary it is, can be as bad, if not worse for your health than smoking. The health risk related to an inactive lifestyle are:
- Obesity
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancer
- Osteoporosis
- Depression
The lack of activity causes an individual to burn fewer calories, reduces circulation, increases inflammation, decreases hormone production, and reduces mineral content in the bones. Increasing one’s activity level can counteract all of these problems. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), it’s recommended that an adult perform at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity. It then goes a step further and states that we should be performing moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity 2 days per week. For individuals who follow these guidelines, it will decrease the risk of early death by up to 80%. Breaking the time up into daily increments of 30 minutes a day is 2% of the day. This is something that should be achievable by every person.
Moderate activities are not something that needs to completely change our lifestyle to add to what we usually do in a normal day. A brisk walk (2.5 miles per hour), gardening, vacuuming, raking leaves, dancing, washing windows, or biking are all classified under moderate activity. Adding these daily has shown a direct link in lowering cholesterol, reducing blood sugar, decreasing body fat, lowering the risk of heart disease, producing mood-boosting hormones, and improving overall energy level.
Resistance weight training in any form has shown a direct link in increasing muscle strength, reducing body fat, improving bone density, increasing joint strength, and improving cardiovascular health. Weight training for a person who has not performed the activity before can be difficult. It would be a good idea to consult a physical therapy or personal trainer to prevent injury. Also, these activities may be simple to jump back into when we are young, but as we age, we begin to have aches and pains which can flare as we increase our activity. Reaching the guidelines set by AHA and WHO does not have to be performed all at once. Even a little bit of exercise is better than none at all. Being able to reduce one’s risk of early death by 80% is something we all should strive for. If you are in a situation where those aches and pains are preventing you from reaching that potential, come see us here at APMR where we can help reduce those restrictions while educating you on how to obtain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Works Cited
American Heart Association. “American Heart Association | to Be a Relentless Force for a World of Longer, Healthier Lives.” Www.heart.org, 2010, www.heart.org/.
World Health Organization. “World Health Organization.” Who.int, World Health Organization, 2021, www.who.int/.
Posted in: Fitness, Health & Wellness
