Americans in general like convenience, and our get in now attitude. Americans are unfortunately not motivated to do things that take time and work to achieve, such as physical fitness. The CDC reports that an astounding 80% of Americans don’t get enough physical activity. Our bad ways are spreading and starting to affect the rest of the world negatively because other countries are adopting the sedentary lifestyle and with it obesity and increases in mortality. Anytime when you look for health insurance the prices are higher and higher, ever wonder why? It’s directly related to our health care systems inability to address “earned” health diseases. These are things that you have to WORK to get such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Treating these conditions is very costly upwards of 100,000 out of pocket beyond rising insurance costs, ask yourself can you afford to not move?
How much activity is in the sedentary lifestyle?
Chronic inactivity is accomplished only by choice. It is unquestionable a hazard to your health. As we just mentioned we have seen dramatic rises in obesity, heart disease two of the top leading causes of death! American Governmental guidelines for physical activity include. Click here to see how the US stacks up against the world for obesity. Anything less than this means you’re not moving enough and are living the sedentary lifestyle.
- Adults: 150 minutes of walking or moderate physical activity per week
- Teens: one hour of moderate to vigorous exercise a day
The United States of America leads the world in “slothly” behavior. Research show that this pandemic of physical inactivity is directly linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast, and colon cancer. Sedentary lifestyles lead to a worldwide death toll above 5.3 million premature deaths, which is projected to surpass smoking. Sitting is the new smoking! Personal responsibility is king here. We all know we should move and therefore not moving is bad. So get up and take a walk, start with 10 minutes a day. You can afford to move, it will save you money in the long run besides raising your quality of life, a wonderful “side effect.” Rise up live the active lifestyle and you will reap the rewards for you and your family. You’ll also lower your own insurance rates in addition to everyone else; its a win, win, win!