It is not news that physical activity or regular exercise helps in the general well-being of an individual. It helps you to have a better lifestyle, impacting you as well as those around you.
The World Health Organisation defines physical activity as ‘any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure’. All these body movements include activities done in your leisure time, during work, during your transportation to get from one place to the other, during a sporting activity, etc.
Various studies over the years have cemented the fact that regular physical activity helps beat certain diseases, enabling you to live your life to the fullest. Even though all of this is well-known, let’s take a look at how well we are doing as a country regarding staying physically active or exercising.
Benefits of exercising
Exercising is basically a category or a subset of a physical activity. Exercises are generally planned and repetitive in nature done for the object of remaining fit and healthy. Exercises and physical activities help in combating diseases and have numerous health benefits.
Regular exercise and physical activity helps a person in maintaining a healthy weight which reduces the risk for certain diseases such as obesity. It improves cardiovascular functions of the body and helps spur growth. Exercise also releases certain hormones in our body which help to improve your mood and mental health.
However, despite all of the above benefits, some in our country do not seem to be improving.
Why is India not exercising and how can exercise help India?
Quoting a study released by The Lancet Global Health, the WHO has warned of distressing levels of physical inactivity in a number of adult Indians. The Lancet study, which was conducted across 197 countries from 2000 to 2022, alarmingly shows that about 45.4% of Indian adults were physically inactive. Out of that, about 52.6% were women and 38.4% were men. The same study shows that the rate was much lower in 2000 at about 22.4%. The gender disparity in the statistics is also starkly glaring.
Most adults these days are not physically active because of their jobs and easy access to necessary commodities. This has led to a particular percentage of the population to lead a sedentary life, considerably reducing their need for physical activity or exercise. This kind of lifestyle has a wide-ranging adverse health impact on the human body and overall has far reaching impacts on the populace.
Physical inactivity in such a large group of people will lead to health issues leading to significant pressure on an already buckling health care system. This sedentary lifestyle has already contributed to the rise of health issues such as orthopaedic problems, hormonal imbalances and heart attacks. This rising trend of Indian adults not exercising regularly and indulging in physical activity is worrisome. It is important to emphasise on young Indians the need to exercise and stay fit.
This is exactly where a nation-wide movement, such as Fit India Movement could help. It could garner public interest and help in mobilising the country to adopt a healthier lifestyle with more physical activity. It could help you, to encourage yourself and others around you to maintain an active lifestyle and help live a better life. It will not only certainly increase the overall life expectancy of the country, but will also make the quality of living that life much better.
The government too has been trying to help promote an active lifestyle. It has been regularly encouraging people to make sports a part of their daily lives. It has also helped garner and disburse funds for such sports projects at the grassroots, so that the youth of the country can take part in sporting activities. The government has also significantly invested in bodies that help and promote sports throughout the country.
Conclusion
In the end, our country will be judged collectively in all statistics. As citizens we do need to acknowledge the need to stay fit and lead a healthy lifestyle. By engaging in some kind of regular physical activity, we can be a part of the country’s march towards a much healthier future.