Activity is fun. Activity should never be a chore or a bore. It should not be something we drag ourselves into doing. Activity should not be a source of bragging or something to be ashamed of. It should not prioritize ‘looking good’ as its goal though it can lead to that in the long run. Activity should be something to embrace and should be defined as all the fun things we do: walking in the mall, marvelling at the gardens in a park, paddling in a kayak on a very calm river, landscaping the backyard, cleaning the house, climbing the stairs to get to the office, standing up and walking to the water cooler, slowly pacing while talking on the phone, house cleaning, walking a pet - seriously, anybody can define an activity in almost all our daily lives yet we don’t count them as anything healthy. Truth is, they can mimic exercise if done in a significant amount of time. I was just talking with a friend about how people ignore the most important thing in life : health. You can have all the love, wealth, fame, support system in the world but if you can’t even open your eyes in the morning or walk to the bathroom without struggling from the bed to the wheelchair, then what is the value of all that? Many people have this complacent attitude towards diseases and illnesses until they are stricken for good.
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Most family-owned business went bankrupt due to spending all their savings on illness or unexpected disease.
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Some senior citizens cut down on food and leisure so their social security benefits can cover their medications’ exorbitant prices. And as we get older, our medicine increase in both numbers and costs.3
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I have encountered patients who stroked out due to inability to pay for their BP meds.
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There are lots of people on this earth who live ordinary lives without knowing they have diabetes or high blood pressure or impending heart attacks because they assume they are the most healthy people in the world.
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The following are my ‘copy and paste notes’ from journals:
[From recent issue of PTinMotion]
Ten modifiable risk factors are associated with 90% of strokes, according to a recently published international study (abstract only available for free). Risk factors include physical inactivity, hypertension, poor diet, obesity, smoking, cardiac causes, diabetes, alcohol use, stress, and increased lipid levels...Researchers examined patient data from 142 participating facilities in 32 countries representing all continents (26,919 participants and 13,472 controls). Participants were assessed with a variety of measures, as well as MRI or CT imaging and blood and urine samples, within 5 days of acute first stroke. While all 10 factors were found to be significant overall, their relative importance varied by region. For example, lack of regular physical activity was associated with 59.9% of strokes in China, but was associated with only 4.7% of strokes in Africa. And while waist-to-hip ratio was associated with approximately 37% of strokes in Southeast Asia and Western Europe/North America/Australia, it was associated with only 2.8% of strokes in Eastern and Central Europe and the Middle East. The single constant: hypertension, which researchers determined was the leading cause of stroke in all 6 regions.One unusual finding McDonnell noted was that in South Asia, lower diet quality was actually associated with lower stroke risk. Similarly, higher alcohol intake was associated with a lower stroke risk in Western Europe/North America/Australia, which was not the case with all other regions.
Because hypertension was associated with 48% of strokes worldwide, McDonnell asserts, addressing it is the “key to stroke prevention.” Authors hope the results can “support the development of both global and region-specific programs to prevent stroke."
[From a British Medical Journal linking physical activity to a lower risk of death with people within age ranges 40 and above]
Boosting physical activity levels in this age group seems to be as good for health as giving up smoking, the findings suggested.
The 5,738 men under observation had taken part in the Oslo I study of 1972-1973, at which time they would have been aged 40-49, and again in Oslo II 28 years later. In Oslo II they were monitored for almost 12 years to see if physical activity level over time was associated with a lowered risk of death from cardiovascular disease, or from any cause.
The men were surveyed on, among other things, their weekly leisure time physical activities. Activities were classified as sedentary (watching TV or reading); light (walking or cycling, including to and from work for at least 4 hours a week); moderate (formal exercise, sporting activities, or heavy gardening for at least 4 hours a week); and vigorous (hard training or competitive sports several times a week).
The analysis indicated that more than an hour of light physical activity was linked to a 32% to 56% lower risk of death from any cause. Less than an hour of vigorous physical activity was linked to a reduction in risk of between 23% and 37% for cardiovascular disease and death from any cause. The more time spent doing vigorous exercise, the lower the risk seemed to be, falling by between 36% and 49%. Men who regularly engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity during their leisure time lived 5 years longer, on average, than those who were classified as sedentary.
Factoring in the rising risk with age of death from heart disease and stroke made only a slight difference to the results, researchers said. Overall, these showed that 30 minutes of physical activity—of light or vigorous intensity—6 days a week was associated with a 40% lower risk of death from any cause.
