GETTING HEALTHY USA: Small tasks help tackle obesity
Small tasks help tackle obesity
Modern conveniences have eliminated movement from our lives: kinesiologist
Janet French, The StarPhoenixPublished: Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The key to tackling obesity lies not in our 30-minute treadmill sessions crammed between lunch and answering e-mail, but in small movements that have been eliminated from our lives by modern conveniences, a University of Saskatchewan kinesiologist says.
Mark Tremblay, who is also the chair of Active Healthy Kids Canada, said the elimination of tasks as small as climbing out of your car to return a video, rather than rolling up to a drive-through video return slot, is contributing to escalating obesity in Canada.
In 2004, 23 per cent of adults and eight per cent of children were obese, Statistics Canada says.
"What we're teaching (kids) is movement is something you take like your vitamin pill in the morning," Tremblay said. "As long as Saturday morning you get your 45 minutes or hour of movement, then you're good the rest of the day . . . and that's not true."
"It won't ward off obesity and it won't prevent diabetes," he adds. The gradual automation of our lives, from escalators to ergonomically designed workspaces preventing employees from getting up from their desks, is depriving us of spurts of physical activity -- sometimes only seconds long -- that used to keep us shipshape.
Tremblay told a Saskatoon seminar Tuesday that if a person who lives for 78 years tossed aside the remote and got up five times per hour to change the channel during every hour they spent in front of the tube, the calories burned would add up to 20.7 kilograms of fat over a lifetime.
For parents who enroll their children in hockey or ballet, the scripted slot of exercise isn't enough, Tremblay said.
A study of 7,000 kids showed participation in organized sports had no effect on a child's chance of being overweight or obese, Tremblay said. But kids who simply went outside "to play" -- with no coaches, uniforms or medals -- were significantly less likely to turn out plump.
Our sedentary lifestyle has also been fueled by urban planning that forces families into the minivan for transportation, he said. In 1969, 50 per cent of children walked or rode their bikes to school. In 2001, only 12 per cent did, Tremblay said.
The consequence is children are becoming prematurely at risk for Type 2 diabetes -- as young as age seven. The recent appearance of this disease in young children is unprecedented, he said.
In attempt to prove the impact of regular movements, Tremblay is working on a study where children in school are encouraged to move around at times other than in gym class and at recess. For adults, it's not that 60 minutes in the gym on an elliptical trainer and lifting weights is a waste of time, Tremblay said, but it shouldn't be the only movement you do. "I think we do it to satisfy our conscience sometimes," he said. "I think we do it for a new year's resolution. I'm not saying there isn't some value to it in addition to everything else. My message is, (movement has) got to occur at a more fundamental level." A lack of time for exercise is no excuse when the typical adult Canadian spends 26 hours of their spare time in front of a computer screen or watching television, he said. For those trapped behind a desk for 40-plus hours a week, there are "games you can play" to stay active, he said. "Organize your office such that getting out of your chair is a necessity," Tremblay said. "Even your workplace and where you are -- visits to the washroom, visits to the water fountain -- any way you can put movement back in your life pays dividends." Many of these problems stem from poor consideration given to the health impacts of societal changes such as the introduction of the computer or urban sprawl, he said. "Now we need to advocate for a society that will allow us to have these healthy living opportunities," he said. "It's being constructed and prepared and fabricated in such a way that it's very difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle."
Jeff Pearson
www.GettingHealthyUSA.com
keywords:HEALTH,NIKKEN,CARDIOSTRIDES,PEARSON,JEFF PEARSON,GETTINGHEALTHYUSA
Modern conveniences have eliminated movement from our lives: kinesiologist
Janet French, The StarPhoenixPublished: Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The key to tackling obesity lies not in our 30-minute treadmill sessions crammed between lunch and answering e-mail, but in small movements that have been eliminated from our lives by modern conveniences, a University of Saskatchewan kinesiologist says.
Mark Tremblay, who is also the chair of Active Healthy Kids Canada, said the elimination of tasks as small as climbing out of your car to return a video, rather than rolling up to a drive-through video return slot, is contributing to escalating obesity in Canada.
In 2004, 23 per cent of adults and eight per cent of children were obese, Statistics Canada says.
"What we're teaching (kids) is movement is something you take like your vitamin pill in the morning," Tremblay said. "As long as Saturday morning you get your 45 minutes or hour of movement, then you're good the rest of the day . . . and that's not true."
"It won't ward off obesity and it won't prevent diabetes," he adds. The gradual automation of our lives, from escalators to ergonomically designed workspaces preventing employees from getting up from their desks, is depriving us of spurts of physical activity -- sometimes only seconds long -- that used to keep us shipshape.
Tremblay told a Saskatoon seminar Tuesday that if a person who lives for 78 years tossed aside the remote and got up five times per hour to change the channel during every hour they spent in front of the tube, the calories burned would add up to 20.7 kilograms of fat over a lifetime.
For parents who enroll their children in hockey or ballet, the scripted slot of exercise isn't enough, Tremblay said.
A study of 7,000 kids showed participation in organized sports had no effect on a child's chance of being overweight or obese, Tremblay said. But kids who simply went outside "to play" -- with no coaches, uniforms or medals -- were significantly less likely to turn out plump.
Our sedentary lifestyle has also been fueled by urban planning that forces families into the minivan for transportation, he said. In 1969, 50 per cent of children walked or rode their bikes to school. In 2001, only 12 per cent did, Tremblay said.
The consequence is children are becoming prematurely at risk for Type 2 diabetes -- as young as age seven. The recent appearance of this disease in young children is unprecedented, he said.
In attempt to prove the impact of regular movements, Tremblay is working on a study where children in school are encouraged to move around at times other than in gym class and at recess. For adults, it's not that 60 minutes in the gym on an elliptical trainer and lifting weights is a waste of time, Tremblay said, but it shouldn't be the only movement you do. "I think we do it to satisfy our conscience sometimes," he said. "I think we do it for a new year's resolution. I'm not saying there isn't some value to it in addition to everything else. My message is, (movement has) got to occur at a more fundamental level." A lack of time for exercise is no excuse when the typical adult Canadian spends 26 hours of their spare time in front of a computer screen or watching television, he said. For those trapped behind a desk for 40-plus hours a week, there are "games you can play" to stay active, he said. "Organize your office such that getting out of your chair is a necessity," Tremblay said. "Even your workplace and where you are -- visits to the washroom, visits to the water fountain -- any way you can put movement back in your life pays dividends." Many of these problems stem from poor consideration given to the health impacts of societal changes such as the introduction of the computer or urban sprawl, he said. "Now we need to advocate for a society that will allow us to have these healthy living opportunities," he said. "It's being constructed and prepared and fabricated in such a way that it's very difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle."
Jeff Pearson
www.GettingHealthyUSA.com
keywords:HEALTH,NIKKEN,CARDIOSTRIDES,PEARSON,JEFF PEARSON,GETTINGHEALTHYUSA
posted by Jeff at 10:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home