With the advent of convenience technologies and packaged food, modern society has become more physically inactive than any of its predecessors. According to reports from the World Health Organization (Who), physical inactivity is the main cause of about 21-25 per cent of breast and colon cancers, 27 per cent of diabetes and 30 per cent of ischemic heart disease. It is considered the fourth leading risk factor for mortality. Thus Who recommends that individuals get adequate amounts of physical activity throughout their lifetime.
The question which puzzles most people, however, is, how much is enough physical activity to maintain health and well-being? Public health recommendations put forward by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports (1995), and endorsed by the US Surgeon General state that individuals accumulate 30 minutes of at least moderate-intensity activity (such as brisk walking or 3,000-4,000 steps) on a daily basis. This activity can be performed continuously or broken up into separate bouts throughout the day.
More recent research has used steps taken per day as an indicator of the level of physical activity achieved per day and correlated it to public health recommendation. According to research published in the Journal of Sports Medicine 2004 by Tudor-Locke and Bassett, physical activity levels can be classified as follows:
• Less than 5,000 steps per day may be used as a "sedentary lifestyle index."
• 5,000–7,499 steps per day is typical of daily activity, excluding sports/exercise, and might be considered "low active".
• 7,500–9,999 likely includes some volitional (domestic and leisure) activities (and/or elevated occupational activity demands) and might be considered "somewhat active."
• Greater than or equal to 10,000 steps per day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as "active."
• Individuals who take greater than 12,500 steps per day are likely to be classified as "highly active."
Exercise is planned, structured, repetitive and purposeful movement of the body in such a way that it enhances physical fitness. Physical activity refers to any bodily movement that is produced by the contractions of skeletal muscles that leads to the burning of calories. The four domains of physical activity are domestic, occupational, commuting and leisure. Thus exercise is actually a sub-set of physical activity and falls under the leisure domain. For those not motivated by structured activity, physical activity can be integrated into everyday life, by increasing domestic and occupational physical activity.
Some ways in which this can be achieved, includes but is not limited to:
• Walking home after work, drop out a few corners before your destination.
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Playing actively with your children.
• Standing to take telephone calls.
Have fitness breaks throughout the day, for example some simple stretches while at your desk or going for a short walk around the office. For those interested in planned, structured physical activity the gym can be one option. For those not liking the confines of the closed space of a gym, parks or fields within their communities can be used. While those of a competitive nature can use sports to provide them with the challenge they need. For individuals engaging in these structured physical activities, three words which make the acronym Fit must be considered.
Fit stands for Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard) and Time (how long). A balance needs to be achieved among those three variables to ensure that adequate amount of physical activity is achieved. As too little or too much reduces the health benefit that are to be derived. Physical activity is just one of the components necessary for optimum health and well-being, another equally important component is nutrition. In order for the human body to perform and recover from the demand of daily life proper nutrition is essential. This can be achieved by eating a wide variety of food from the six food groups and watching portion or serving size. Also important is limiting the amount of saturated fat, trans-fat and refined sugar consumed.
• Courtesy Trinidad and Tobago Association
of Nutritionists and Dietitians (TTANDi)
