
ENCOURAGING EXERCISE part 3
Daily life is full of opportunities for becoming more physically active – here are a few of them to consider.
Daily life is full of opportunities for becoming more physically active – here are a few of them to consider.
Every study which has been performed confirms that the level of exercise taking in the population is lamentably low. The only question is just how low. When exercise performance is estimated from questionnaires the level does not look too bad. In the 2012 HSE report, 34 percent of men and 24 percent of women aged 16 and over met the government guidelines.
I indicated last week that lifelong exercisers live longer than their more sedentary friends. Is it ever too late to start? The answer is a qualified no because the effect on longevity takes a while to kick in. It probably takes several years of high levels of activity to increase your lifespan.
This is the bottom line – how long you live. As I have banged on about in the previous blogs, I regard healthspan as more important than lifespan, but no-one wants to die sooner than necessary. As the old question goes – “who wants to live to be 90?” The answer is “someone aged 89.”
This week’s offering is a departure – a guest blog. It has been submitted by Melina at lotuskitty, a website dedicated to Yoga. Find it at www.lotuskitty.com
It is my hope that as many people as possible should become as physically active as they can. I very seldom recommend a particular form of exercise because all forms are good and the most important feature of activity is that you enjoy doing it – or it is unlikely that you will continue.
That part of life spent in good health is Healthspan and is a better measure of a nation’s wellbeing than Lifespan.