It seems nearly impossible these days to escape the lack of physical activity and movement in today’s society. Most people spend their days at work sitting down, then sitting in the car or train on their commute, then sitting at home and watching television and finally going to sleep. During an average work day, people spend 21 hours a day being inactive. This leads to a multitude of problems including obesity, which is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.
Physical inactivity causes a decrease in energy expenditure, which means the more inactive you are the fewer calories you burn. Think of it like a car – food comes in to fuel your trip, but if you continue to fill the gas tank without going anywhere, you’ve got a problem. This, combined with over-consumption of bad fuel in the form of high calorie foods leads to an imbalance, resulting in an overweight and obese car.
Obesity is the main risk factor for a wide-range of disorders and diseases including: Type-2 Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, chronic heart failure, kidney disease, sleep apnea, respiratory disorders, chronic inflammation, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, multiple forms of cancer, depression and decreased quantity and quality of life. (Yes, that’s a lot!)
Approximately 3.2 million deaths worldwide are attributable to insufficient physical activity. Think about that next time you’re thinking of going on a 5-hour Netflix binge.
So what can we do about it?
Being more active and having a better diet can decrease weight gain and prevent Type 2 Diabetes by up to 80%. Health care officials recommend that people move at moderate intensity for 150 minutes per week. That’s 30 minutes per day for 5 days per week. You have 10,080 minutes in a week (the same amount as Beyonce), using 150 minutes for physical activity is only 1.48% of the total minutes you have in a week.
Yup, you read that right: 1.48% of your total time spent caring for and taking control of your body, your health and your life.
Only 1.48% to vastly improve your quality of life for the better. Think to yourself, what would Bey do?
Ready to move?