Why is exercise so despised and treated with so much contempt?
Double rainbow - from my apartment window I've never lacked motivation to write a weekly blog. For me, it provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on life, not just on the sport of mountain biking, but on many other facets of our being. Life is a gift, and a gift that should be nurtured and treasured and never, ever taken lightly. I recently tweeted on how we often take life for granted and how we sometimes need to step back from the 'rat race' and 'smell the roses'. All too often, we accept our capabilities but never appreciate them until they are taken away - either long-term by diminishing health, or short-term by injury or sickness. So writing is not the problem - finding a suitable subject to write about, on the other hand, presents more of a challenge. I want my blog to appeal to a wide and more diverse audience than just bike riders - today, my inspiration was to be found all around me!
Tony Abbot - Pollie Pedal (SMH, 2013) Whilst walking around my beautiful beach suburb of Manly on a splendid sunny and warm winters day, I suddenly became aware of the size and weight of the people passing by. Either they were overweight or, in some cases, morbidly obese. Several people passed and my visual awareness was aroused. Only when the 14th person walked by, did I see a person of healthy weight. I had once experienced this same feeling the day before a mountain bike race, while I was shopping in the town of Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The supermarket was packed with grossly overweight customers and check-out staff. However, this was in a less affluent area. Today, I was in Manly, which is more middle-class, more educated and more body conscious. Needless to say, it is the electorate of Tony Abbot, Liberal MP and, for better or worse, possibly our future Prime Minister. Had our society lost sight of what constitutes good health and has it become culturally acceptable to be overweight?
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes being overweight and obese 'as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.' The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a rough measure of weight whereby a person’s weight (in kilograms) is divided by the square of height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more, is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.The WHO (2013) reports that globally, 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese, and an estimated 35.8 million suffer from life-threatening chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Countries with the Highest Obesity Rates
Obese population aged 15 and over (OECD Countries)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states
1. United States 30.6
2. Mexico 24.2
3. United Kingdom 23.0
4. Slovakia 22.4
5. Greece 21.9
6. Australia 21.7
7. New Zealand 20.9
8. Hungary 18.8
9. Luxembourg 18.4
10.Czech Republic 14.8 (Aneki, 2013)
Obese population aged 15 and over (OECD Countries)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states
1. United States 30.6
2. Mexico 24.2
3. United Kingdom 23.0
4. Slovakia 22.4
5. Greece 21.9
6. Australia 21.7
7. New Zealand 20.9
8. Hungary 18.8
9. Luxembourg 18.4
10.Czech Republic 14.8 (Aneki, 2013)
Although many people point to The United States as the most obese nation, Australia fares little better. The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years.
- Fourteen million Australians are overweight, of which five million of those are obese.
- By 2025, it is predicted that close to 80% of all Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese.
- Obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature death and illness in Australia.
- Obesity has become the single biggest threat to public health in Australia.
- It is predicted that children today will have a shorter life expectancy than earlier generations simply because of obesity. (Monash University 2013)
Janyon Photography, 2013 A number of conclusions can be drawn from these facts. With a total population of 23 million, Australia therefore has a minority of nine million currently possessing a healthy weight. As a bike rider, my friends and I are now even more a minority group. Perhaps this is why many of my work collegues view me, and people like me, as 'obsessed', 'strange', 'crazy' or even 'a bit freaky'. Perhaps we are, because we are certainly no longer the norm. In fact, many of my work collegues take a train or bus to the city, but because the next part of the journey involves a 10-15 minute walk, albeit through beautiful and scenic Darling Harbour, many wait and then pay to be transported by light railway or bus to avoid walking! Other work colleagues take an escalator down one floor to catch a lift up to go up two floors in order to avoid walking up one flight of stairs. When questioned why, I was told that exercise is a ' dangerous strain on the heart'. Incidentally, I work alongside supposedly highly educated teachers and lecturers in a 'Health and Wellness College' providing an education for future graduates in the health industry! Many of our staff lecture on nutrition and healthy living yet they are overweight themselves. Isn't this like an atheist preaching a church sermon or a vegetarian working at an abattoir?
Morgan Spurlock - Super Size Me, & McDonalds opens in Africa Secondly, being unhealthily overweight is seen as culturally acceptable in countries such as Australia. When I travelled to Liguria, Italy for the World 24 hour Solo Championship in May, 2012 I spent two weeks in the beautiful Italian town of Finale. Only when I travelled to tourist areas such as Cinque Terre did I realise how other cultures and countries differ. The visiting Americans, Australians and Brits were grossly overweight and obese and this was memorable because this excess of fat was not to be seen on the Italian residents in towns like Finale. Quite frankly, it was quite embarrassing. In reference to this cultural acceptance, I remember watching a scene from the excellent documentary 'Super Size Me' where a scenario was described involving a smoker, drinker and an overweight person. We would frown upon excessive smoking or drinking but we wouldn't question the obese person having extra dessert. Allowing a child to drink alcohol or smoke a cigarette in public is rebuked but when a parent allows a fat young child to stuff their face with cake, chocolate and coke there is no reaction or cause for concern. Clearly, the parent is setting the child up for a lifetime of ill-health and a shorter life expectancy and surely this constitutes a form of child abuse.
Human Beings are inherently lazy and it seems that they'll do whatever they can to avoid exercise. A catalogue of myths and excuses are clearly evident. Many claim that they just don't have enough time to fit in any exercise. But surely this is more to do with priorities rather than a lack of time. My wife often hassles me for not reading enough books. I enjoy reading but I admit this does sit low in my priorities, after work, training and other pleasures. But once I do start reading a book I enjoy, I will read it avidly and complete it in just a few weeks. Evidently, my priorities change to accommodate for a change in activity. Furthermore, I fit in as much as ten hours of my training load a week by commuting to work on a bike, time that would be wasted sitting on a bus or in a car on Sydney's congested road network. I'm not suggesting for a moment that this would suit everybody. But by building exercise into a daily routine, and this could be as simple as walking part of the way to work, not taking the car to the beach or park or using the stairs instead of the lift, then exercise becomes part of the daily routine. Indeed, now I don't even think of commuting as exercise but purely my mode of transport to get to work.
Another myth is the fat gene and the argument that some people are destined to be obese. It is true that people are born with a different somatotype or body shape. Most people are a combination of endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph while others may be more dominant in one. Nevertheless, an otherwise healthy individual can control their weight with the correct balance of exercise and diet. Obesity rates in Australia have doubled in the last 20 years and this is not because double the amount of people have been born with the fat gene. This is because of modern lifestyle choices.
Another myth is the fat gene and the argument that some people are destined to be obese. It is true that people are born with a different somatotype or body shape. Most people are a combination of endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph while others may be more dominant in one. Nevertheless, an otherwise healthy individual can control their weight with the correct balance of exercise and diet. Obesity rates in Australia have doubled in the last 20 years and this is not because double the amount of people have been born with the fat gene. This is because of modern lifestyle choices.
Others argue that healthy and nutritious food is too expensive and they have no choice but to buy junk food such as McDonalds, KFC and pizza. Looking at the food choices of an overweight middle-aged lady behind me in the supermarket queue today, she had several bottles of sugary drinks, multiple bags of crisps and snacks, frozen cakes and desserts, several processed meals and not one piece of fruit, or any vegetables. Some of her food items would cost more than the healthy alternatives. Furthermore, superfoods such as oats cost very little, as do healthy wholemeal foods such as rice, pasta and spaghetti.
Only last week one of my colleagues told me sport was simply bad for your health. She pointed to the fact that nearly everyone she knew who played sport had an injury. Indeed it is true that many sports people carry some kind of injury. Joint injuries such as those to the knee, elbows and shoulders are quite common. But surely these injuries are not as worrying as cancer or diseases which affect the cardiovascular system leading to high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
Only last week one of my colleagues told me sport was simply bad for your health. She pointed to the fact that nearly everyone she knew who played sport had an injury. Indeed it is true that many sports people carry some kind of injury. Joint injuries such as those to the knee, elbows and shoulders are quite common. But surely these injuries are not as worrying as cancer or diseases which affect the cardiovascular system leading to high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
Modern society means children don't play outdoors anymore but sit at home surfing the net and not the waves, and playing tennis and football video games on the sofa and not on the sports ground. Parents don't let their children play outside because they feel it is too dangerous and drive the kids to school. It is no wonder, that there is a reluctance or even a resentment to exercise that has found it's way into the mindset of our future generations.
Many members of the public become irate when a rescue needs to be undertaken to save an adventure seeker who has fallen into strife in the mountains . As a climber and a mountain biker, I am often told that people like us are an unnecessary strain on taxpayers money and if we ever find ourselves in trouble we should be left to fend for ourselves. But what of the strain on the health system from poor health caused by being overweight and obese? Those who partake in exercise have stronger immune systems, have less days off work and will not need to utilise public health facilities as a result of poor life style choices.
I see very little hope for the future. I often teach the importance of nutrition and exercise to my students. With an honours degree in Sports Science, a Physical Education teaching qualification and a Personal Training Certificate I feel I have a reasonable amount of knowledge in this area. When people come for advice on how to lose weight, they are invariably interested in diet and what they should or shouldn't eat. They are far less inclined to listen to advice about exercise and most people simply ignore this. Aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, swimming and even walking are not 'doable' options for them, let alone the need for resistance training to build muscle and consequently raise the metabolic rate. Instead people go on crash or fad diets, or waste money on slimming pills or magic fat burning creams. This results in setting themselves up for future failure while simultaneously fuelling a multi-billion dollar diet industry. Even when they lose weight they later put it all back on, plus a little extra, as the body responds to the perceived food shortage by storing energy in the form of fat - this is the concept of 'Yo-Yo dieting'.
If this article has offended anybody I feel I am not required to apologise. Instead, I hope that once your initial anger has subsided you can take note and make the necessary changes to improve your life before it is too late. Obesity is a choice, as is a healthy body. Exercise does not need to be seen as an unnecessary evil. It can be enjoyed and cherished. At the very least, exercise can improve the quality of a person's life and increase longevity. It produces endorphins that create a feeling of contentment, increased positivity and leaves a person with a more positive body image. Why would you choose any other way?
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