Jump on board the exercise bus!

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity have been well documented and are hard to ignore, yet still we encounter a reluctance to jump on board the ‘exercise bus’! For many, exercise conjures up images of pain, discomfort, of being hot and sweaty. Many of you will recall PE lessons and being at the back of a line or being the last one picked and standing in the middle of a pitch in the middle of winter wearing very little and not having any interest or understanding of what was going on around you! Experiences and perceptions that can shape a lifetime of inactivity and a reluctance to exercise. Everyone wants to feel better, have more energy and feel younger and if there was a pill they would take it benefits from moving more, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.

With this in mind, one story that caught my eye as I sat outside reading the Sunday papers that I thought I should share with you. The article involved research carried out by Dr William Bird MBE into PA deficiency. He described the symptoms of PA deficiency as:

• Increase risk of poor mood/low self esteem
• Weight gain
• Sallow skin
• Poor sleep
• Muscle wasting
• Constipation
• Increased falls in the elderly
• Accelerated cognitive decline

Alarmingly. those with PA deficiency have:

• 38% more days in hospital
• 5.5% more family physician visits
• 13% more specialist services
• 12% more nurse visits
• A total of 27 million people suffer from deficiency
• Total cost to NHS over £1 billion

​It is not all bleak news, because there is an antidote! If you hadn’t already figured PA, is an abbreviation of Physical Activity and according to Dr Bird those who participate in Physical Activity have:

• 30% reduced risk of death
• 35% reduced risk in cvd chd and stroke
• 35% reduced risk in type 2 diabetes
• 35% reduced risk in hip fracture
• 80% reduced risk in osteoarthritis disability
• 30% reduced risk of colon cancer
• 20% reduced risk in breast cancer
• Reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease

 
– Chinese proverb
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.