In 2022 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the “Global status report on physical activity 2022”. The facts and findings in there are very interesting and important – also for your health. In this article you will learn why physical activity is so important, which health advantages it brings along and how you can be more active in daily life.
Germans are too lazy
Especially Germany does not perform very well in the global comparison. About 40% of the male and 44% of the female adults move enough throughout the day. The deficits in the younger population is even bigger, so that just 80% of the boys and 88% of the girls are not sufficiently active. The causes therefore are manifold, but laziness has particularly increased during the corona pandemic. However, there are also structural barriers like missing bike paths.
Why is motion so important?
Sufficient motion brings many advantages for health, but consequently there can emerge disadvantages and risks for health if there is a lack of physical activity. This concerns non communicable diseases like those of the cardiovascular or respiratory system, cancer or diabetes mellitus. Most of the deaths in Germany are due to these while cardiovascular diseases play the biggest part. The good news: The risk for these diseases can be decreased by motion and physical activity in an effective way. But also mental wellbeing profits from that. For example symptoms of depression or anxiety can be reduced, the stress level drops and sleep improves.
How much motion do we need?
Two things can be stated in advance: Key is to limit your sedentary behavior, so the time which you spend sitting down. Furthermore it is more important to move at all. So it is secondary if you walk around, ride your bike, play with your kids or go swimming. The WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, so that’s 2,5 hours. If you can, it is even better to move more up to 300 minutes. More than 5 hours here are described as health promoting. Furthermore it’s advisable, to absolve weight training on two days per week, but also coordinate exercises on 3 days are useful.
How can you achieve the recommendations?
It’s good to know how much you should move during the week. but even better if you really move sufficiently. Considering the minimum, you should integrate 2,5 hours of physical activity in your week. For example, therefore your way to work can be useful. Maybe you can cycle to the office or leave the train one station earlier so that you can walk the rest of the way. Also lunch break can be used for some motion. Instead of sitting around all the time, take a little walk after you had your meal. Who don’t wants to train alone can join different sport groups, for example Nordic walking or hiking. The gym is also an established option or also online courses at home. The Teamfit-App offers you countless kinds of sports and activities like yoga, pilates and bodyweight training and you can also create your own workouts referring to your fitness level and time. There are many ways to move and to do sports. The main thing is to move! So get to know what is fun for you and try to take little steps into a more active life.
