Get Up and Get Moving!

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” border_style=”solid” flex_column_spacing=”0px” type=”flex” box_shadow=”yes” box_shadow_blur=”5″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_right=”30px” padding_left=”30px” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” hover_type=”none” first=”true” gradient_start_color=”#ffffff” min_height=”” link=””][fusion_text]

Do you remember when was the last time you did a 15-minute walk to run an errand somewhere, or chose to take the stairs over an elevator?

Living in the era of technology innovations really takes our standard of practicality and convenience to a whole new level. Means such as online shopping or food delivery service eliminate the need to stand up from our chairs and get the things we want. While it is true that their existence eases one’s life, at the same time, we are being presented with a common harm to our well-being: people are encouraged to live in an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle.

Sedentary lifestyle is a way of living most commonly found in modern societies, characterized by an inadequate amount of regular physical activities. Unsurprisingly, inactive activities comprise most of the things we do every day, ranging from sitting and watching television to riding a motorbike or working with a computer. In addition, with hours spent to reach our ever-distant workplaces or schools, commuting alternatives like riding a bicycle and walking are seen as both energy- and time-wasting. In contrast, from an evolutionary perspective, humans were made to move; ancient hunting and gathering way-of-life, which required a great deal of muscular activity, were preserved for the sake of our survival. Seeing that our way of living has dramatically changed from thousands of years ago, have you ever thought about how our modern daily habits contribute to our “survival”?

As early as in 2002, World Health Organization (WHO) had warned us that around 2 million deaths each year were attributed to physical inactivity. In fact, according to a report published in Annals of Internal Medicine on January 2015, higher inactive time was positively linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular, cancer, and type 2 diabetes incidence.

In cancer incidence and mortality, strong associations had been found with breast, endometrial, epithelial ovarian, and colorectal cancer. Some studies have also proven that there are associations of adults’ television viewing time and overall sedentary time with larger waist circumference. With less muscle contractions due to an excessive period of sitting, there will be less clearance of triglycerides (main form of fat) and oral glucose load, which may lead to insulin resistance. Moreover, one study in Australia reported that people who were spending less than 8 hours sitting each day had a 14% lower risk of preventable hospitalization. In a nutshell, the more inactive you are, the higher your risk of developing diseases.

Thanks to those studies, we now know that it is wise to incorporate more physical activity in our daily errands. The problem is, how can we know whether we have already fulfilled the standard it takes to be called physically active?

As what suggested by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults need to do two types of physical activity every week, with the goal of health improvement. Those two are aerobic and muscle-strengthening. Activities are considered as aerobic or “cardio” if they make you to breath harder and your heart to beat faster. Running up the stairs or walking with your dog are all count. For muscle-strengthening activities, such as weight lifting or yoga, it is essential to do them up to the point where it is hard to continue the repetition without assistance.

One is considered active enough if she does at least 2 hours and 30 minutes (times you might spend to sit and watch movies!) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. It sounds like a lot of time (and energy) to spend, isn’t it? Well, here goes the good news; you can spread that 150-minute worth of work to smaller pieces in any given time of the week! It does not really matter how many chunks you would like to divide it into (as long as it is not less than 10 minutes at a time). What matters is that you do it regularly and increase the time as you progress.

Hence, with all this knowledge in mind, the next time you wait desperately in front of an elevator to reach the 3^rd floor, you know that there is another healthier, more active option, waiting for your taking!

References

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]