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" If you can't find time for exercise, you would have to find time for illness "
Physical activity is the bodily movement produced by muscle contraction that substantially increases energy expenditure. Being physically active doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or doing aerobics for hours on end. In fact, adults and children of all ages benefit from a moderate amount of physical activity. And it can be fun too! Take a bike ride with your kids, try a new dance, play soccer or basketball on a sunny day. Even taking a brisk walk can be beneficial.
Experts recommend at least 30 minutes (for adults) or 60 minutes (for children) of moderate physical activity most days of the week, preferably daily. But it doesn’t have to be continuous—you can spread it over two or three times during the day. It has been found that moderate physical activity of >30 mins of brisk walking per day reduces the incidence of most chronic diseases.
Moderate Physical Activity Benefits Many Chronic Health Conditions
There are countless other benefits of physical activity:
- Improves your chances of living longer and living healthier.
- Helps control weight, develop lean muscle and reduce body fat.
- Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
- Reduces the risk of coronary artery
disease and of developing high blood pressure, colon cancer and
diabetes. - Can help reduce blood pressure in some people.
- Helps relieve symptoms of anxiety.
- Helps protect you from developing certain cancers, including colon cancer and breast cancer.
- Helps prevent arthritis and may help relieve pain and stiffness in people with this condition.
Small Steps To A More Physically Active Life
- Start low, go slow.
- Be creative in modifying your lifestyle.
- Decrease time spent watching TV.
- Park further away from your destination.
- Take stairs instead of the elevators.
- Take brisk, brief walks several times a day.
- Set easy attainable short-term goals.
- Increase time spent in moderate-intensity activity by no more than 5%
per week to eventual
30-60 min/day.
Effects of Physical Inactivity
Physical Activity Deficiency or inactivity is one of the major factors contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic. The children spend considerable time in watching television and playing video games rather than playing outside to get exercise. Adding to the problem is that parents of overweight children don’t always recognize that their child is overweight. This is directly linked to parents denying their own obesity. Most parents believe in the myth that children are naturally active. However, survey’s show that preschool children spend only 11% of their free play time in vigorous activity. Moreover, normal children are sedentary for over 10 hours a day and spend only about 12 minutes in high level physical activity. It has also been found that their is a direct relation between television viewing and childhood obesity.
Children’s Television Viewing, 1940 -1995. (data is from multiple references)
It can be seen from the above graph that by 1995 the no. of hours spent in watching TV per week increased by 33 % since 1940. This has led to the children having an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.
Effects of Excessive TV Viewing On Chances of Being Overweight
And Regaining Lost Weight
Adapted From Gortmaker SL, Must A, Sobol AM, et al: Television viewing
as a cause of increasing obesity
among children in the United States, 1986-1990. Arch Pediatr Adolesc
Med 150(4): 356-362, 1996.
TV is one of the most harmful influences on the children. It not only exposes them to the Sedentary Death Syndrome but also to the commercials promoting unhealthy foods.
What is Sedentary?
"One who sits". Those who undertake no leisure time physical activity ( 28% of US population) or those who undertake < 30 mins of physical activity a day(42% of US population).
What Is Sedentary Death Syndrome?
Sedentary Death Syndrome describes the growing life-threatening health problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle. Its symptoms include : weak skeletal muscles, bone density loss, hyperglycemia, glucosuria, low serum HDL, obesity, lowered physical endurance and resting tachycardia. It has been found that due to SDS 14 % of the deaths are premature. Deaths due to sedentary living is three times greater than that from infections, sexually transmitted disease and MVA.
Thus, exercise is an extremely important factor in leading a happy and healthy life. Overweight and obese children will need at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and major studies have shown that 60 minutes a day is actually best. Any activity that gets your child up and away from the television set is a good idea.