Are you planning on skipping that workout? Why do people prefer to relax on the couch instead of taking a walk or going on a run?
Well, from the point of your hunter-gatherer ancestors for them it was crucial for survival to
conserve energy as the food was scarce. But, now we need to only click a few buttons on our phones to get all kinds of calorically dense foods without any effort and this creates an environment that we simply haven’t had the time to adjust to.
Consequences from not exercising can be generally of two types. The physical changes and the mental changes. These will not only affect your life right now but is something that you’ll keep with you. Enough of what I have to say about it, let’s look at what the research says.
Physical health
The two main chronic illnesses are Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease and physical activity has been shown to reduce the chance of 40* different chronic diseases including the previously mentioned.
Some research indicates that a lack of exercise has been associated with higher mortality rates of 18-45% compared to more active individuals (1) (2). A significant increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk has been associated with physical inactivity and a less active lifestyle. Eliminating a sedentary lifestyle may lower stroke by 33% and CVD by 15% to 39% (3).
Cardiorespiratory fitness is a major indicator of health. A study done on men improving their cardiorespiratory fitness over 8 years increased their survival by about 50%. (1)
Mental health
A meta-analysis of 49 prospective studies that contained participants over 260,000 showed that individuals were less prone to developing depression if they engaged in more physical activity. Data suggests that physical activity in people free from mental disorders is a modifiable protective factor. (4)
According to another study, participants who spent their leisure time sitting down experienced much higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression this was also the case among Korean University students. Despite controlling for factors like sex, perceived economic level, BMI disease, and self-management of health. (2) Exercise and physical activity are considered crucial self-management techniques for those with mental health illnesses. (5)
It should be mentioned that the study was done in Canada that had people with mental health diseases, They saw improvement for certain conditions such as anxiety and depression but not so much when it came to schizophrenia and for bipolar disorders, it improved certain symptoms but aggravated other symptoms. (5)
How can we start getting more exercise?
We can start by taking that 15-minute walk instead of taking the car or even the bus. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Small steps like these will put you in the habit of thinking about physical effort differently and would be a first step towards being generally more active.
Steps to take as healthcare providers
A study noted that the most important factor for exercising was "being recommended by a health care professional."
This study that compared individuals with mental health illnesses who adopted exercising as a self-management tool versus those who did not showed that the individuals who did not exercise as a self-management method 70% of these individuals were not made aware of the benefits of their health care professional. Healthcare professionals must recommend exercise to their patients, support their engagement and discuss barriers. (5)
Disclaimer
I would say that I am biased towards exercising and consider it a part of my lifestyle having said that I do strongly believe for the majority of people increasing their physical activity levels would be beneficial given it's done in a well-structured manner. This is not medical advice but a general insight into what the current literature has to show us.
References
1. Ruegsegger GN, Booth FW. Health benefits of exercise. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2018 Jul 1;8(7).
2. Lee E, Kim Y. Effect of university students’ sedentary behavior on stress, anxiety, and depression. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2019 Apr 1;55(2):164–9.
3. Lanier JB, Richardson SW. Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention [Internet]. Vol. 93. 2016. Available from: www.aafp.org/afp
4. Schuch FB, Vancampfort D. Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: it is time to move on. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2021;43(3):177–84.
5. Pelletier L, Shanmugasegaram S, Patten SB, Demers A. Self-management of mood and/or anxiety disorders through physical activity/exercise. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. 2017;37(5):149–59.
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