Physical inactivity as a public health problem
Many people practice exercise as a leisure and lifestyle activity. We notice it when people share their fitness routines in their social media, or when we see dozens of people jogging, jumping and flexing in our walks around the park.
There’s even a very robust market around exercising. The global health club industry amounted as much as 96 billion dollars during the year 2019, with more than 210 thousand gyms and fitness clubs around the world providing service to more than 174 million subscribers [1]. The global fitness equipment market alone reached 10.31 billion dollars during the year 2020, and it is expected to grow 6.8% during the next five years [2]. And yet… it turns out only a minority of people practice exercise or sports, and keep physically active as a regular habit.
By the 21st century, the belief in the value of exercise for health has faded so considerably, the lack of exercise now presents a major public health problem [3].
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 4 adults do not meet the global recommended levels of physical activity, and more than 80% of the world’s adolescent population doesn’t do enough exercise nor is physically active enough [4]. This is very concerning because lack of activity leads to major health complications and it diminishes quality of life. In this sense, sedentarism is nowadays as dangerous as smoking.
In the United States, 43% of people were physically inactive in 2016. This amount reached 51% among women! This is slightly less dire in Canada and in Mexico, were roughly 30% and 28% of its population keeps physically inactive, respectively. This is no small problem. Lack of physical activity increases the risk of developing obesity. Both sedentarism and obesity can trigger many different health problems such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, joint pain, gallbladder disease… even anxiety and depression.
Basic recommendations
According to the World Health Organization’s guidelines and recommendations, adults aged 18 to 64 years should do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as riding a bike, dancing, hiking, rollerblading or brisk walking, per week. Another alternative is to do 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, such as running, swimming, skipping, aerobics or any sport, per week.
Children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years should do an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity [4].
If you want to keep physically active, dancing, walking, yoga, and swimming are great choices. Walking is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to practice exercise and burn calories. 30 minutes to 1-hour walks, either daily or 3 days per week, is a great way to start an easy and healthy fitness routine.
Health benefits
The importance keeping physically active cannot be overstated. Evidence shows that physical inactivity is associated with the development and worsening of at least 40 chronic diseases and conditions. Practicing exercise reduces the risk of developing [3]:
- Accelerated biological aging and/or premature death
- Obesity and overweight
- Dyslipidemia
- Hypertension
- Many kinds of cancers, like breast, ovarian, endometrial, and colon cancer.
- Congestive heart failure
- Coronary heart disease
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Stroke
- Metabolic syndrome
- Type 2 diabetes
- Insulin resistance
- Gallbladder disease
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Osteoporosis
- Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
- Cognitive dysfunction
- Bone fractures when falling
- Poor balance
- Erectile dysfunction
- Constipation
- Depression and anxiety
- and many more…
Even if a person already suffers any of the aforementioned conditions, practicing exercise has a very positive impact and can lead to amelioration or resolution of most of them.
Exercise benefits overall health by optimizing many of our body’s functions. For instance, doing regular exercise [3]:
- stimulates cognition
- helps maintain proper motor coordination and balance
- optimizes the heart’s blood pumping volume per minute
- improves circulation
- strengthens skeletal mass and muscle
- optimizes insulin sensitivity
- increases aerobic capacity
- burns calories
- reduces fat storage
Exercise benefits cardiorespiratory fitness [3], the circulatory and respiratory systems’ ability to supply oxygen to skeletal muscle. Having a high cardiorespiratory fitness is linked to a significantly lower mortality risk, a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diminished odds of developing type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, among many other benefits as those listed above.
It has been proven that exercise also benefits mental health.
Many studies support physical activity as a non-invasive therapy for mental health improvements in cognition, depression, anxiety, neurodegenerative diseases, and drug addiction [3].
Considering the many health benefits that routinely exercise provides, it is no wonder why some people say that “exercise is medicine”. It is definitely the most effective way of maintaining overall good health and stamina.
The fact that regular exercise provides great health benefits is widely accepted, but this doesn’t mean it comes easy. A lot of people face different barriers and limitations for engaging in exercise as a routinely activity. Lack of motivation, guidance, equipment and, especially in people with obesity, limited mobility and health concerns.
One study shows that people tend to overestimate how difficult it is to start and keep exercising. They also tend to underestimate how much they can actually enjoy it [5]. But doing frequent exercise can be very satisfying and incredibly rewarding. It provides a sense of accomplishment, it releases endorphins, reduces stress, boosts your self-esteem, it improves your ability to rest and… it can even boost your sex drive. So, basically, exercise not only improves your health…it also benefits your mood and general sense of being.
Of course, most people don’t recognize the fact that exercise can carry all these benefits. Exercise is not usually “marketed” that way. In the both the health club industry and in the fitness equipment market, exercise is mostly presented as an alternative for achieving weight loss and obtaining a toned and attractive physique. Exercise can achieve decent weight loss; but when we limit its outcomes and benefits to weight loss, people can get very easily disappointed when they fail to reach their weight loss goals after a few weeks or months of exercising, which might lead to low adherence and back to sedentarism.
Weight loss
The effects of exercise by itself are limited when it comes to weight loss. The Physical Activity Guidelines Committee Report states that exercise alone usually results in weight loss of less than 3% of initial body weight, in normal circumstances and in optimal conditions. However, exercise in combination with a low-calorie diet does result in a more substantive reduction of body weight, even in people dealing with obesity [6].
Burning energy of 500 calories per day achieves approximately 1 pound of weight loss per week. To lose a pound a week, an individual would need to sustain 1 hour of aerobic exercise a day. Guidelines from the NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative and the US Preventive Services Task Force indicate that 30 minutes a day of aerobic exercise, with an expenditure of 2,500 to 3,500 kcal per week, promote weight loss and a reduction of health risks. It has been reported that with over a 12-week period of exercise alone, overweight patients can lose from 2.5% to 8% of their body weight [7].
More than aiming to become an exercise devotee, people struggling with overweight and obesity should focus in becoming and staying physically active. A physically active person is someone who does moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days per week. This magic equation makes a huge difference, not only in the results of weight loss, but also in long-term benefits for the metabolic system, the overall physical function, and quality of life.
Contact us
If you are interested in knowing more about the importance of exercise or if you would like to reconnect with your body and keep more physically active, call our clinic. At LIMARP International Center of Excellence for obesity, we offer integral bariatric programs that include personalized fitness routines. Call today or send us a message to schedule a free consultation.
References
[1] C. Gough, “Health & Fitness Clubs – Statistics & Facts,” Statista, Mar. 10, 2021. https://www.statista.com/topics/1141/health-and-fitness-clubs/ (accessed Sep. 30, 2021).
[2] Research and Markets, “Fitness Equipment Market Research Report by Product, by Distribution, by Region – Global Forecast to 2026 – Cumulative Impact of COVID-19,” Research and Markets, Jul. 2021. https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/4904492/fitness-equipment-market-research-report-by (accessed Sep. 30, 2021).
[3] G. N. Ruegsegger and F. W. Booth, “Health Benefits of Exercise,” Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Med., vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 1–16, Jul. 2018, doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a029694.
[4] “Physical activity.” https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity (accessed Sep. 30, 2021).
[5] M. B. Ruby, E. W. Dunn, A. Perrino, R. Gillis, and S. Viel, “The invisible benefits of exercise.,” Health Psychol., vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 67–74, Jan. 2011, doi: 10.1037/a0021859.
[6] P. M. Coen and B. H. Goodpaster, “A Role for Exercise after Bariatric Surgery?,” Diabetes Obes. Metab., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 16–23, Jan. 2016, doi: 10.1111/dom.12545.
[7] M. Livhits et al., “Exercise following bariatric surgery: systematic review,” Obes. Surg., vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 657–665, May 2010, doi: 10.1007/s11695-010-0096-0.
