On the subject of World Physical Activity Day, marked on April 6th, read the opinion article by Diogo Cruz, from the Sociedade Portuguesa Medicina Interna, on the sedentary lifestyle of young Portuguese people and what to do to promote healthy habits in the youngest .
The celebration of anniversaries should, among other things, serve to draw the attention of policy makers and the population in general to a certain topic, but it should also serve as a useful reflection in our daily lives.
Thus, on this day when World Physical Activity Day is celebrated, it is not possible to remain indifferent to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) on this topic. In the Global Status Report on Physical Activity 2022”, we find that 87% of deaths in our country are attributed to chronic non-communicable diseases. Considering that the WHO points out physical inactivity as one of the main risk factors for the development of chronic non-communicable diseases and death, the numbers of physical inactivity in the Portuguese population are even more impressive. In this report, our adolescent (ie 11-17 year old) boys show inactivity levels of 78% and the percentage rises to 91% when we consider girls.
In this country planted on the seafront, where in many cities there has been a huge investment in the development of cycle paths and promenades, where the climate and natural beauty are clearly favorable to the practice of physical exercise in the open air, we are clearly failing, at least least, with regard to instilling this “need” to be active in our young people.
In some countries, programs have been developed to encourage the practice of sports, mainly aimed at children/young people, to instil a “taste” for physical activity and the adoption of healthy lifestyles from an early age in the life cycle. It is worth looking at programs such as the “PLAY 60” Activity Initiative for Kids, developed in the USA in a partnership between the American Heart Association and the National Football League and which aims to encourage children to practice 60 minutes or more of moderate physical activity to vigorous daily.
If the benefits of Physical Exercise are clear in relation to weight control and the prevention of brain and cardiovascular diseases (main cause of morbidity and mortality in Portugal), the benefits in other diseases are less known. Anyway, there is already robust evidence, based on meta-analyses, showing the benefit of regular physical exercise in reducing neoplasms, namely breast, colon, stomach, kidney, etc… are here, there are countless. I also emphasize the already demonstrated benefits in reducing the incidence of depression, even with reduced physical activity (ie 25% reduction in the risk of developing depression with just 2.5 hours of brisk walking and an 18% benefit with half of that activity) .
As for the amount of exercise necessary to obtain benefit, it can generally be considered by the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology, which suggest performing 150-300min of physical/moderate exercise per week or 75-150min of vigorous/exercise per week. This exercise must be aerobic. Naturally, it must be adapted to the physical condition and any pathology/limitation that each person may have, so it is recommended that, before starting a physical exercise program, you consult your doctor to outline a program adapted to your physical condition. .
Therefore, we do not need to be high competition athletes to have benefits in our health, in fact, most of the studies were done with leisure/recreational exercise.
It is therefore in our hands to adopt healthy styles and lives, taking advantage of the natural beauty and climate of our country, so that, with family and friends, we can have a more lasting life and an active, healthy and disease-free ageing.
