Exercise for the Fun of It
Exercise is important to physical and mental health. Moderate exercise enables the body to function better on many levels. It improves functions like, increased blood supply to the muscles, decreased body fat and cholesterol, increased bone density, and many other health benefits. The long term benefits are reduced health risks later on in life.
I do feel the the environment plays a big part in the community activities that take place. I think our culture is moving toward a more sedentary lifestyle whether at work or at play. I'm hoping not to point the finger, but I think one of the factors is our use of the computer. With computer games and entertainment we can satisfy our senses without more than a click of the finger. Oftentimes parents are very busy and to keep their kids occupied they play videos for them. I sometimes see this as a daily routine and as the child gets older they are fixed on the television as their source of entertainment.
I believe that physical activity is an integral part of life. Our bodies require it to stay healthy. The renewed intake of oxygen is important to so many basic functions.
There is a difference that environment plays in either promoting or curbing physical activity. I think that community structures and accessibility play a role in inviting outdoor activity. I also think that daily activities learned in school influence habits later on in life. Physical activity is natural for children and if they learn early to have fun, they will find their own means to engage in meaningful activity later on and hopefully throughout life.
Nevertheless, it helps to live in an environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle such as parks, biking trails, and gyms and programs that are readily available to the community. In areas where there are parks people tend to gather to socialize and take leisurely walks. This type of environment encourages people of all ages to step outside and to enjoy the outdoors. When I lived near a park there were regulars who would show up to do their walk or exercise. The community seemed livelier. It was great to see a group in their seventies and eighties doing their morning stretch and exercise and daily walk. Just being around them gave me an optimistic feeling. I was hoping I'd have the same health at their age.
The guidelines presented by the Scottish government provide a helpful and hopeful means of promoting healthy lifestyles. If diabetes , heart disease, and obesity are on the rise, then perhaps our lifestyle changes in food, activity do play a part in the prevention of these diseases. I would think that the sedentary lifestyle that leads to greater risk of heart and other diseases would not be a healthy scenario to follow. In part the benefits of exercise is to reduce stress. It improves our mental and physical functioning. So exercise has the potential to reduce stress in our lives and improve our immune system.
The essay on obesity and the environment stressed that if there is sufficient pressure to adopt new behaviors individuals are apt to change for the sense of belonging. The article used recycling as a example that created a trend in educating children about it's importance. I think by setting healthy examples at a young age it helps to instill habits and behaviors that will be beneficial for a lifetime. The difficulty will be in implementing a course that will create significant change due to our current perceptions. I also agree with the article that our current culture can make it difficult to promote these changes. We are very convenience oriented. Thus there has to be a incentive for change. Unfortunately illness has become the primary motivator. Such that it has become a national epidemic. Another challenge is many people also lack the time in their lives to add additional activities to their already busy lives. So I feel that changes in the environment might lend more enthusiasm for physical activity and changes in eating habits. If it is implemented on a community level it invites others to participate. It appears that lifestyles have changed greatly in the past fifty years or so it might take incremental steps to see what results will transpire.
The Fun In Seven program started in Hong Kong sounds like a great program because it's emphasis is to provide knowledge and skills and awareness of health issues in a fun way that can be applied in life.
I wonder if adopting similar programs in the US will have such an impact.
References:
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/7812/7812.html
http://octopus.bch.cuhk.edu.hk/fun7/english/about_us.shtml
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