Get Up and Get Moving
Get Up and Get Moving
D. S. Mitchell
Getting Fatter
We hear it every day, our society is becoming more sedentary and with that comes obesity. Many of us spend hours behind a desk at our jobs. We drive our cars to the fast food drive thru, then the bank drive thru, and the pharmacy drive thru, we never even have to get out of our cars. We use our computers to shop, (I love Amazon), without ever leaving the house. With decreased activity people are increasingly complaining of multiple issues including aches and pains, bad knees, obesity, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
Too Much
Just like we enjoy eating and drinking too much, we enjoy sitting too much. We are surrounded by cars, snacks, elevators, sugary drinks and fast foods. The problem has become serious enough that the World Health Organization has a new agenda focused on encouraging physical activity. Things are serious when WHO recognizes the problem as a world wide health issue.
Improving Mental Health
A “Black Dog Institute” of Australia study found that 1-2 hours of exercise per week can prevent depression. In addition to improved mental health multiple world-wide studies have shown that vigorous movement can stave off heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, fatigue, diabetes, and even cancer. That should be a hell of a motivator, but sadly it doesn’t seem to be. There could be many reasons for that; but to combat the sitting disease it is necessary to drop all the excuses, find your tennis shoes and go for a walk, sign up for Pickleball at the local park, take a water aerobics class. This exercise thing can be a fun thing.
Sitting Addiction
Our country, and most of the industrialized economies are suffering from a “sitting addiction” which leads in turn to “sitting disease”. Physical inactivity is one of the top 10 causes of disease and disability according to a recent UK government study. That study attributed 1 in 6 deaths to “sitting” which is equal to smoking in that country.
