From the Faculty
Each month, we will post a health and fitness related article written by one of our faculty members.
This month features IFPA President, Jim Bell, M.S.
The American Public Pays the Price of Growing Couch Potatoes
There is an insidious crisis occurring in
the United States right now. People
are aware of it and sit idly by, unconcerned as lotus-eaters, while their bodies
are being ravaged. Their lives are
being shortened as their quality of life plummets.
Their inability to act, to take simple steps to prevent years of pain and
suffering, leading them to premature death.
This seems like
the plot of a horror movie. This
can’t be real. Who are these
people that could possibly allow such a thing to happen?
Well it’s not a
movie, and it is real. The people
being described above make up approximately 78% of the American population. That’s right, 78% of the American population are afflicted
with the scourge of mankind; the lack of physical activity – the lack of
exercise.
Just in case
you’ve been out of the country for the last decade, medical and health experts
have been preaching the cause of a responsible fitness, health and nutrition
lifestyle. They have been warning
us that as much as 80% of the things that ail us are linked to the poor
lifestyle choices we make everyday. Poor
eating habits, lack of exercise and bad lifestyle choices such as smoking,
overindulgence in alcohol, drugs, sugar and fat.
These habits have led to Americans becoming the most obese nation in
world history. The land of the free
has become the land of the fat; the home of the brave has become the home of the
unfit.
Currently 56% of
adult Americans are classified as overweight with a frightening one in three
classified as obese. This has led
to astronomical medical and health costs topping one trillion dollars every
year. Even more alarming is the
fact that only one percent of all the children in the United States between the
ages of 2-19 get their nutritional needs met on a daily basis.
Not only does this represent permanent disabilities (mental, physical,
and emotional), but it has also created the most obese children’s population
in world history. Poor eating and
exercise habits have led to one in four children in the U.S., now classified as
clinically obese.
If you think one
trillion is a lot of money, just wait till you see the bill for caring for the
crop of couch potatoes we are growing now.
They will be unprepared for adulthood.
Unable to cope with the stress that modern technology has wrought on our
society. They will be utterly
overwhelmed by the dynamics of global competition and that spells disaster for
the last remaining superpower.
Like the once
mighty Roman Empire that ruled for 1,000 years, the U.S. will crumble, never
knowing defeat by an outside enemy. We
will decay from the inside. The
inevitable result of our citizen’s refusal to take personal responsibility for
our own precious bodies.
There has not
been a better opportunity to create change for a thousand years. The new millennium is here and now, with greater opportunity
than mankind has ever witnessed. We
live at a time when technology provides more fun, luxury and convenience that
anyone could have possibly foreseen, even a short 50 years ago.
Your choice is to either watch life go by or drop the remote, get off the
couch and get in the game of life.
Pick an activity
that you like to do. Something that
you can do with your family, friends, co-workers or neighbors.
It doesn’t matter what it is: walking,
swimming, weight training, biking, aerobics, tennis, anything as long as it gets
your body moving.
We all have basic
physiological needs: air, water,
food, exercise, protection from the environment and sex.
We all recognize very quickly when we need air because you die within
five minutes when you don’t get any. Likewise,
thirst lets you know when you need water and your belly lets you know when you
need food. Unfortunately the aches,
pain, lack of energy, lack of endurance and strength, poor flexibility, weakened
immune system and other features of an unfit lifestyle do not provide us the
motivation to act as quickly as when we are drowning.
The motivation to
act, to start and maintain a fitness lifestyle must come from within.
So start your program with a low level of intensity and increase it
gradually as your conditioning and energy levels permit.
You do not have to workout like a world champion.
Significant levels of fitness can be derived from relatively light levels
of exercise. Plan on being
consistent. Something you will
participate in 2-3 times per week for the rest of your life will greatly improve
your longevity as well as the quality of your health.
This is preferable to the people whose New Year’s resolution is to
workout six days a week for three hours a day, who inevitable drop out of the
program after 10 days of painful effort and frustration.
It is my
experience that people who start out slow, build gradually and commit the amount
of time that is realistic for their lifestyle have the better chance to realize
their goals. You, too, should
develop a program based on your available time and a comfortable intensity
level.
When determining
what activities are right for you think about the following:
-
The fitness activity should develop all nine components of fitness, which are strength, speed, power, muscular endurance, cardio respiratory endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination and body composition.
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The fitness activity can be maintained throughout various stages of life, from childhood to old age.
-
The fitness activity should present competitive challenges.
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The fitness activity should provide a social outlet to encourage retention.
-
The fitness activity should minimize injuries.
Read the above
list again, there is no requirement to run 10 miles/day or spend 3 hours a day
in a weight room. Though there are reams of research on the benefit of strength
training and endurance running, the truth is the best exercise is the one you
enjoy doing. Tennis is a great conditioning activity and very popular today.
Golf is more popular, but the use of the golf carts prevents any exercise or
health benefit. Even though other sports provide excellent development of some
of the nine components of fitness, very few sports, other than tennis hit all
nine of them. Regardless of how
much you and I enjoyed the sports activities of our youth, how often do we
participate in those sports after graduation from school?
Very few adults play anything other than golf or tennis.
Putting tennis elbow aside, injuries from tennis are relatively few in
number.
I could list
every physical activity available in the world today, but I sincerely hope you
get the point. You must find an activity that you will enjoy and sustain. You
have a choice to be a statistic and live a life of misery or get off the couch
and live a life that’s worth living.