By Dr. Elisabeth Fontaine
Let’s start with a proclamation of President Joe Biden:
I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2022 as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. I call upon the people of the United States to make daily physical activity a priority, to support efforts to increase access to sports opportunities in their communities, and to pursue physical fitness as an essential part of healthy living.
Last month was National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. You might ask why do we have to have a National Physical Fitness and Sports Month?? The answer: To highlight the priority of being active! As a reader of the Plant Based TeleHealth newsletter you are aware of the importance of a whole food plant-based diet for your health but are you aware of the almost equal importance of exercise? Here are some facts:
The Center of Disease Control (CDC) revealed the 4th leading risk factor of death worldwide: Physical Inactivity is an urgent public health priority. So then let’s not be surprised that a majority of adults (81.6%) and adolescents (81.8%) do not get the recommended amount of physical activity.
The urgency of physical inactivity is not a new message, yet we should not continue to ignore it. We should also attempt to focus on it every month, not just in May.
I personally prefer to discuss movement as opposed to exercise. Exercise has become such a buzzword that seems to represent a high athletic level. It's time to fact-check “exercise”. The truth is that you don't have to be a marathoner or a gym rat to get meaningful health benefits from exercise.
Everything counts when it comes to movement. Here is the activity level recommendation per the American College of Sports Medicine. We all should do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week including some resistance exercise twice weekly.
As human beings, we overthink what movement represents. Just taking a few minutes at the beginning of a week or even every day when you wake up will make a great impact. Just a few minutes to question what will I do today to help my body to stay active? This way you will allow yourself to be intentional about the simplicity of how you want to move. The fact that you are getting ready to provide yourself a moment to move is going to be registered by your brain as an engrained possibility for more action and before you know it a habit you enjoy.
Besides the amazing gain on your physical health, there is ample evidence of the impact of movement on your mental state with a significant impact on the reduction of anxiety and depression. It is even better when done outside as research has demonstrated the effect on our well-being and it allows you to get some natural Vit D. Furthermore, what really makes it a no-brainer is when you do it with a friend or family member as an accountability partner. There you have it a perfect recipe for the Lifestyle Medicine (LM) pillar.
Remember that exercise is not all or nothing. It is important to focus on how exercise makes you feel. Figure out what kind of exercise and workout location makes you feel good. Keep trying different types of exercise until you find an activity or workout routine that makes you happy. Reflect on how you can craft your physical movement so that you want to do it and so that you’re able to do it today or tomorrow.
As a Physician who practices Lifestyle Medicine, with a background in Exercise Physiology, I consider Exercise a vital sign. In every visit with Plant Based TeleHealth, I discuss movement/exercise as a prescription for health with my patients.
Let National Physical Fitness and Sports Month create the spark you need to set a movement goal you can commit to — and carry it throughout the rest of the year.
It is as simple as going out and playing!
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/04/29/a-proclamation-on-national-physical-fitness-and-sports-month-2022/
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676129459/get-started-exercising