Fitness and Health
According to Dr Garry Egger, it’s possible to be fit but not very healthy, and the reverse is true – you can carry some fat but still be a healthy person. Recent research has shown that keeping active is of the utmost importance. If you maintain a moderate level of activity, even if you’re not losing weight, you are about seven times less likely to contract illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
New findings on exercise
Scientists, consultants and over 200 health experts from Australia and overseas have just completed an extensive 12-month review on exercise, fitness and health. The review revealed you don’t have to become a gym bunny or pound the pavement until you’re exhausted to be healthy. The old idea that you need to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes, three to four days a week was based on research carried out in the 1970s and 1980s. That research studied the effects of exercise on physical fitness, not exercise in relation to health. The great news is that all the latest studies show that lifestyle type activities such as housework, gardening and generally being more active around the house are just as effective as going out and joining a gym or going to an exercise class.
Technoflab
Figures dating back to the turn of the century show that we actually eat about a 1000 calories a day less than our ancestors did. Garry Egger thinks that technology, not overeating is the problem: labour saving devices and computers are slowing us down and making us fat. It’s no surprise that employees in the computer industry are becoming some of the fattest in the country. It is estimated that in the last 20 years we’ve slowed down by the equivalent of about 800 calories. That equates to moving 8 to 10 kilometres less each a day.
Pedometer
To check if you are moving enough, you can use a little device called a pedometer that measures the number of steps that you take during the day. The average person walks two to three thousand steps a day, only about a third or a quarter of the seven and a half thousand steps required. Garry recommends trying to think of movement as an opportunity, not an inconvenience. Use the stairs instead of the lift, take your dog for a walk, and don’t use a remote control for everything that opens and shuts.
Further information
Pedometers are readily available from sports and electronic stores. They cost $20 – $50.