In case you just arrived from Mars or some deserted island, the opening ceremony of the
Games of the XXX Olympiad, unofficially known as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games or
London 2012, is set to start tomorrow evening, igniting
2 1/2 weeks of celebration of physical activity. In that vein,
the Lancet published a series of articles earlier this past week on physical (in)activity and its implications. In the lead article, the
authors determined that physical (in)activity was related to 6-10% of heart disease, cancer (especially breast & colon), and type 2 diabetes.
In addition, the authors noted that strong evidence linked physical (in)activity to all-cause mortality, hypertension, stroke, metabolic syndrome, depression & falling. As if that weren't enough, they also pointed out that physical (in)activity was also linked to cardiorespiratory & muscular fitness (no surprise there!), healthier body mass & composition (again, no surprise!), bone health, functional health & cognitive function.
The irony is that most of us will
participate vicariously in the 32 Olympic sports & cheer our favorite athletes over 3,500 hours of programming from the comfort & inertia of our sofas & big screen TVs, thereby compounding the problem of physical inactivity. But rather than completely & perfectly imitate a couch potato, might I suggest that, at the very least, we make an effort to get off our collective butts during every commercial and exercise for those 30-60 seconds for which corporate sponsors are paying. Don't just sit there, do something! If you want more evidence of the benefit of physical activity, check out Part 7.
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