Movement is always a better life

How often and how most people move is usually sparse and poor, intermittent and inconsistent, with 2-3 hours of repetitive exercise or the same old cardio at the gym thought to be enough. It tends to be done on autopilot or more concerned with results and appearances than the actual act of moving. Goals such as muscle toning or fat loss may be achieved, but this has nothing to say about the capacity and ability to move, or the effects that such mobility has on the whole organism. This is what is known as active sedentary lifestyle.

We are the result of a merely superficial culture in terms of what we understand a priori by physical wellbeing (if by this we mean the set of eating and sports habits throughout life), a computational, machinist culture, related to productivity, statistics, quantity and appearances. But of course, the world is increasingly and better designed precisely so that we don’t have to move.

In contrast to this, it turns out that the human body is designed to move. 

We forget that mobility is synonymous with autonomy, with independence on many levels throughout life. And as epigenetics says, how and how much we move throughout our lives can condition even the information in our DNA.

The data speak for themselves, the problem is already well established, almost a quarter of the world’s population is considered physically inactive. Around 25% of adults and 80% of children do not reach the recommended levels of physical activity. This is alarming, especially in the new generations of digital youth, as childhood behaviours carry over into adulthood.

Physical inactivity has become a major public health focus, due to the increase in premature mortality and chronic diseases attributed to inactive lifestyles, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, stroke and some forms of cancer. Not to mention the economic cost of physical inactivity to health systems worldwide, an estimated $53.8 billion in 2013 alone*. Approximately 6.8% of all disability-adjusted life years worldwide are due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Of this figure, almost half is due to low back pain and one fifth to neck pain and osteoarthritis. Both prolonged sitting and standing can have detrimental effects on the body’s health, which is why the ergonomics community promotes postural change and movement breaks as a key strategy to support functional health.

On the contrary, moving provides many physical, mental and social benefits for people of all ages. Studies indicate that there is a dose-response relationship between regular levels of physical activity and health outcomes, meaning that for every incremental increase in physical activity, there is a corresponding increase in health and well-being benefits.

In addition, there is plenty of evidence linking regular physical exercise with the improvement of numerous health indicators for women, such as the prevention and treatment of various ailments that occur precisely in the peri- and post-menopausal period. We could say that good mobility is more than a lifestyle, constituting in itself a form of therapy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults aged 18-64 years should engage in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or at least 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Moderate-intensity physical activities include movements such as housework or cycling with little exertion. Vigorous-intensity activities include those such as walking, running or heavy lifting. Low-intensity activities are those that we tend to accumulate through the activities of daily living, including walking.

In the case of workplaces, providing convenient opportunities for constant and sustained physical activity is a promising way to maintain improvements in health and well-being: use of stairs, ergonomic furniture, pedestrian and bicycle access, provision of physical activities in or near the organisation, and above all informative education about the benefits and ways to move.

Offering fitness classes to employees can provide them with the opportunity to more conveniently meet minimum physical activity recommendations. Studies indicate that offering classes at worksites, or within a radius of no more than 200 m, is more effective in increasing exercise levels compared to providing facilities alone. Therefore, beyond simply providing access to opportunities, organisations must dedicate resources to adequately communicate and support engagement and promote a broader culture of health where leadership, management and colleagues encourage participation in workplace programming.

Being aware every morning that you have a body and that you have the possibility to move it! Isn’t that motivation enough? If not, as the author of “Walk, Jump, Dance”, Róber Sánchez, says, talk for a while with someone who can’t really move, and your doubts will go away.

Moving will motivate you to move.

*Source: World Health Organization. Prevalence of insufficient physical activity. https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/physical_activity_text/en/. Published 2018. Accessed August 28, 2019.