Much of America did not have to worry about keeping fit 100 years ago. In those days, 40% of the population was working on farms, sowing, herding and moving. In the coastal cities, strong stevedores were loading and unloading ships without a container or stacking crane. Builders, lumberjacks and railroad men drove nails or sawed wood with their muscles, not power tools. In addition, for those doing the washing, cooking and scrubbing, that was a power workout though not too dainty. Every pick of the 8-pound iron that gave ironing its name (ironing the clothes) was a solid 8-pound weight training exercise. In those yesteryears, staying in shape was not an issue. Working out, was a phrase that would never have been understood in those days other than to mean going to work for a living.
On the contrary, today we have a different story. Over 40% of the population in North America and Europe are overweight (including the rich folks of developing countries). Most people in these wealthy nations sit down the whole day, in the car, at the office, on the sofa, eat like a stevedore adding thousands of calories and then drive to the gym to log a mile on a conveyor belt to give up a less than a hundred calories. The old energy-calorie equation is unbalanced.
For the past decade, health institutions and the media have focused on the input side of the equation that Americans are eating too much. Cut down on the intake was the big shout. Books and an entire industry of nutritionists and health experts have propped up to save the nation from eating too much. However, even graver than the intake is the fact that Americans and Europeans are not burning enough calories or moving their bodies for good health and flexibility. “We have two epidemics in this country. One is obesity, the other is physical inactivity,” laments Dr. Tim Church, medical director of the Cooper Institute, a fitness research center in Dallas. “One is a topic of cocktail conversation and the focus of best selling books. The other is ignored,” says Dr. Church. Especially when folks meet each other in New York, it is common to make statements like; you have lost weight, looking good. However, no one will say, you have gained weight, looking bad. People want to make you feel good, that is the psychology of the social circles.
To begin with, exercise works wonders for the heart. The only way that you can exercise your heart is by exercising your limbs (walking, jogging, running, swimming, cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, etc). Exercise, improves lipid profile, reducing the risk of heart disease and restoring function after a heart attack. It helps in bone health whether you are young or old. In addition, it helps keep your blood pressure down and moderates blood pressure for hypertension cases. Exercise is also good for fighting depression and anxiety and helps maintain cognitive functions in old age. Studies show that physical activity helps prevent breast and prostrate cancer, probably by influencing hormone levels and prevents colon cancer probably by flushing out waste. Exercise seems so beneficial to cancer patients that oncologists have been advising patients to get moving.
Physical activity has not been in the limelight so far because of the physical visibility of obesity. Fitness though is not about being fat or skinny it is about being healthy. How did all this happen? How did so many people get unfit? The technology and gadgets of today from TV to video games to working long hours keep people sitting more than their ancestors did. From 1974 to 2000, the percentage of children of overweight six – to – 11-year-olds more than tripled. Among 9 – 13 year-olds, only 39% take part in organized exercise each week. With adults, it is the same story. However, security has also become another issue that has affected the behavioral patters of children and adults. These days with all the child abductions children cannot play freely outdoors without adult supervision. Women cannot run through a park unless it is crowded or with company or risk being attacked. In Mexico people are afraid to walk in some neighborhoods for fear of being mugged, and the list goes on. Therefore, people have to work around these hazards too. However, the main change in human behavior is due to the in-home entertainment now available. The other is the fact that many people do not cook at home anymore and eat out frequently.
Keeping fit does not mean going in for endurance events like running marathons or swimming the channel. Endurance athletes are few in this world, and they are a special breed. In fact too much of physical activity can hurt you than help you, so do not overdo it. You can make getting fit expensive or inexpensive. Investing in high-end equipment can be a costly affair. Instead, you can join the office gym or local YMCA/YWCA or other neighborhood gym. The best of course is to exercise outdoors if you live in a location that makes that easy and safe to do so. Even NYC with its high population density offers many opportunities. When I traveled for UNICEF, I used to carry a skipping rope. Skipping in the hotel room was a very easy thing to do. Where it was safe I would run outdoors. And indoors many hotels have swimming pools and indoor gyms, which you should use on your official travels. Please see the chart at the end of this article on some forms of activity that burn calories.
One piece of advice I like to offer you. Do not try to be a weekend warrior that is, put in a large amount of exercise over the weekend. Physical activity paced throughout the week with rest days for your fitness level and age is the best way to go. Do not exercise when you are sick and do not start a rigid exercise program without medical advice. Be kind to your joints. Mixing and mingling different kinds of physical activity can keep you fit and prevent the risk of hurting one part of the body through overuse. Walking is a great exercise, which anyone can do. In addition, playing games, like tennis, baseball, badminton (popular in Asia) are great forms of exercise. Some people also recommend weight training on some days of the week. Good swimmers can skip the weights, as cutting through the water is great for the arms. However, lightweight training recommended for competitive swimmers is popular as well.
Inactivity is so bad in the USA that a typical American takes only 5,000 steps a day while the average Amish man and woman takes 18,425 and 14,196 steps per day on average. The Europeans are quite inactive too. Working for UNICEF, and you see all the slim people in the developing world, who move a lot and are underfed. One win/win solution is for folks in the industrialized world to eat less and donate those savings from the food budget to a World Hunger Fund; they would then be leaner and fitter and help the rest starving in other parts of the world (or their own).
Getting fit is no magic. You have to make the move to get moving. Consider an activity that you enjoy and is safe for you, and do seek medical advice especially if you have been inactive for long or have any health problem. If you hurt while exercising, STOP the pace immediately and gradually slow down to a full stop. For running and walking, a good running shoe is the best investment, even if you do not plan to run.
Dress in athletic attire to exercise, even if you exercise at home. Do never attempt to exercise in your pajamas. A uniform is a motivator, ask soldiers and they will tell you that. Exercise has also hidden dangers, so be careful of tripping and falling or banging your head or other part of your body on some gadget. Exercise with care and always be careful of your surroundings. My fastest run was not at the New York City marathon but when a mugger tried to get me one night in NYC, I fortunately was able to outrun the man. For goodness sake, age gracefully, as you age, slow down to a slower tempo.
Finally remember that exercise helps and is not a cure for the best of health. Having good genes is the best guarantee for good health and that is a gift from God or your ancestors, whichever is your belief system.
Reference:Getting Fit, Time, June 6, 2005
COUNTING CALORIES: Exercise burns calories, offsetting the calories that you take in and helping you lose weight. Heavier people need more energy to move, using more calories per activity.
ACTIVITY |
CALORIES BURNED/MIN |
|
120-lb. |
180-lb. | |
(54-kg) |
(82-kg) | |
person |
person | |
CYCLING (10 mph) |
5.5 |
8.2 |
DANCING (aerobic) |
7.4 |
11.1 |
HIKING |
4.5 |
6.7 |
JOGGING |
9.3 |
13.9 |
RUNNING |
11.4 |
17 |
SITTING |
1.2 |
1.7 |
SWIMMING |
7.8 |
11.6 |
TENNIS |
6 |
8.9 |
WALKING (brisk) |
6.5 |
9.7 |
WEIGHT TRAINING |
6.6 |
9.8 |
SOURCE: Time Magazine, June 6, 2005 . | ||
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