Everyday physical activity is disappearing or has disappeared, and we are getting sicker.
WHO: In the course of the next 100 years 70% of all sickness absenteeism (from work) will be related to physical inactivity. They state that 10% of all deaths are related to inactivity.
They list a number of inactivity related conditions or illnesses: premature death, circulatory effects, type2 diabetes, cancer, muscle and skeleton sufferings, mental disorders, reduced functionality and life quality.
The Danish Institute for peoples´ health has calculated that this adds up to 3.1 million extra days of sickness leave in a population of 5.5 million.
There is a conflict of interest as medical companies want to sell drugs for it all! But we must remove focusing on medication and move over to prevention and training. Life style intervention must replace medicine intervention. If 5% of people not training today start up the demand for health services will be strongly reduced.
There is considerable research underpinning the fact that training is sickness prevention. Steven N. Blair has researched and written extensively on this matter and states that the biggest problem of the western world is physical inactivity. People are sitting themselves to death! The important thing is to be fit, but not necessarily slim!
A Scandinavian approach to the matter has been publishing an activity handbook in Sweden and Norway with recommendations of training for 33 specific illnesses. The book is distibuted to all health personell. Doctors are now ordering patients into specific exercise programs to improve their health. The initial results are very encouraging.
The minimum exercise regimen needed is very light. About one half hour of low intensity exercise pr. day will improve the situation, and the more you do the better it will be.