Exercise: Important Protective Factor for Our Health

What is important to stay healthy? That’s what 30,000 working people were recently asked in a study. “Lots of exercise” was one of the four most common answers. Other top spots in the rankings were occupied by recommendations such as “getting enough sleep,” “eating a balanced diet” and “keeping yourself happy.”

Sitting for long periods harms health

It is obviously known that exercise strengthens health. It is just not acted upon. Only 13 percent of the population keeps physically fit and exercises for half an hour at least three times a week. The majority of Germans sit through life – in front of the TV, at the computer, at the coffee table. Women spend about 6.7 hours and men 7.1 hours a day sitting. People have become permanent sitters.

Exercise – protective factor for health

Sufficient exercise is one of the best protective factors for our health, along with a balanced diet, successful stress management and responsible use of tobacco and alcohol. Our brain and heart get better blood flow when we flex our muscles in between. We then learn better and can concentrate more easily. The fact that physical activity reduces the risk of suffering from coronary heart disease has been scientifically proven many times over. But that’s not all. Physical activity has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, bone loss, joint wear, obesity and back pain. Moderate endurance training also strengthens the body’s own immune system and noticeably lifts the spirits. Another positive aspect of exercising is that people who do sports with others or in a club are more likely to have a social network and also prevent loneliness and isolation. Regular exercise is preventive health care in the best sense and strengthens one’s own health in many ways.

Exercise – the entry into an active life

Integrating more movement into one’s everyday life does not mean practicing competitive sports from one day to the next. Our body does not demand that at all in order to stay healthy. Rather, he is happy about every little activity that we allow him in everyday life. It doesn’t matter whether we go for a walk or ride a bicycle, whether we vacuum or build up a shelf – our muscles get going and our organs are also strengthened. It is precisely individual small activities that add up and have a protective effect. Sports medicine therefore recommends spreading several small phases of exercise throughout the day as a start to an active life.

Exercise – a question of the right dose

Optimally, we should move enough each week to consume about 2,000 to 3,000 kilocalories. Those who alone take advantage of every opportunity to exercise in their daily lives can burn up to an additional 1,200 kilocalories a week. If you then go for a brisk walk for half an hour every other day, you will eventually manage to increase your energy turnover without any problems. The good news is that it is good for your health to exercise only lightly or moderately. A high training intensity brings namely no additional effect.

3,000 extra steps

The “Exercise and Health” campaign of the German Federal Ministry of Health aims to motivate people in Germany to exercise more. The central instrument of the campaign is the pedometer. A free pedometer is distributed at the numerous events. The device is about the size and weight of a matchbox. It is attached to the waistband or belt and thus counts every movement. The pedometer as motivation:
The idea of using a pedometer to accurately record daily exercise is not new, but it is as simple as it is effective. The owner can check his or her steps at any time at a glance. This option makes the pedometer an excellent motivational tool: it gives even rather unathletic contemporaries their own personal sense of achievement. Those who can also encourage others in their circle of friends, family or colleagues can also initiate “step counting competitions”. That’s why the German Federal Ministry of Health uses a pedometer for its “Exercise and Health” campaign. Whether at work, at school or on vacation, everyone can see at a glance how many steps have already been taken. An extra 3,000 steps every day is a good start.

Those who want to go can just start walking

Walking is the most original and natural way of locomotion. Covering long distances on foot was part of everyday human life for thousands of years. In the meantime, walking on foot has gone out of fashion. Wrongly so. Because it is the simplest of all locomotion. Walking does not require any effort. It just happens, like breathing. Anyone who wants to walk can simply get started. A few steps on foot can always be incorporated into everyday life. For example, the subway stations in Berlin are an average of 790 meters apart. If you get on one stop later, you simply take an additional 987 steps – assuming a stride length of 80 centimeters.