By Nancy Proctor, BSN, MAE
Patient Experience Educator
Move it or lose it! Anyone who has rehabbed an injury or surgery is undoubtedly familiar with this paradigm in order to regain strength and mobility. I wonder if this thinking applies to other areas of our well-being. While grabbing a coffee one day, I pulled in and saw long lines at the drive-thru. Having little patience, I parked, ran in and got my coffee. As I left, I noticed the line of cars hadn’t moved. It begs the question, why would 95% of people opt to sit in their car in line for an exponential amount of time rather than just go in and get what they want? Are we so used to convenience we completely forget there is an alternative? And, because we aren’t moving as much, are we compromising our physical and mental health? Is convenience crippling us?
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic, according to the World Health Organization, which estimates more than half the world will be overweight or obese within 10 years. In the United States, it’s estimated nearly 260 million Americans will be overweight or obese by 2050 and experience all the co-morbidities that go along with that condition: hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, joint deterioration, agility and some cancers. Obesity has been linked to Alzheimer’s. New research conducted by Dr. Cyrus Raji and Dr. Richard Isaacson found that as the size of a person’s belly grows, blood flows there before it goes to the brain, resulting in the memory center shrinking. Conservatively, over 2 million individuals could have dementia from Alzheimer’s disease attributed to their obesity.
Within the last decade, we have the option to no longer walk through the grocery store or load and unload what we buy. We can sit at the table and order everything we need online, and some of us don’t need to leave the house to work.
They say history repeats itself. The Industrial Revolution in the 1800s yielded a similar dilemma. In 1845, German philosopher Friedrich Engel wrote, “The prevalence of physical activity has dropped significantly in developed countries and is associated with an increase in obesity levels and the occurrence of weight-related health disorders. Industrialization processes may be linked to unexplained disparities in physical activity. Society can neither retain health nor live long.”
Consider that we are people in the 21st century still inhabiting the bodies of the hunter-gatherers of centuries past. We continue to have the physiology of our ancestors (which thrives on movement), yet our lifestyle no longer supports it as it did prior to the industrial and technical revolutions.
We now face two obstacles: too little exercise and too much sitting. The good news is we don’t need to forgo convenience, just set some time aside to move. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes five times a week of moderate to intense activity to prevent and control obesity, and those minutes don’t even need to be in a row! It can be anything that keeps you moving, such as gardening, pushing the lawn mower, using the stairs, dancing, walking, hiking or working out at the gym.
As you begin, be mindful of that inner critic in our heads that reiterates every reason why we shouldn’t exercise. The trick is to just show up – you’ll figure it out when you get there.
Our local area offers many places to be active, such as parks to walk, ride your bike or run, and facilities to swim, strength train, play pickleball, and tennis. Whatever you choose, the hardest part is starting. Just show up! The rest will take care of itself. Make staying mentally and physically healthy a new year goal. Remember, move it or lose it.
