GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) says all adults and children need to move a lot during a pandemic. Physical activity is believed to ward off disease and prolong life.
All adults should engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. Meanwhile, children and teenagers are advised to have an average of one hour of physical exercise every day and limit their time in front of electronic screens.
In his campaign entitled ‘Every Move Counts‘, WHO advises people of all ages to compensate for the growing silence amid the pandemic. Besides being good for the body, physical activity is also good for mental health, warding off disease, and extending one’s life span.
“Increasing physical activity not only helps prevent and manage heart disease, type-2 diabetes and cancer, but also reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduces cognitive decline including Alzheimer’s and improves memory,” said Ruediger Krech, WHO director for health promotion. Among, Wednesday (25/11).
Surprisingly, one in four adults and four in five teenagers did not do enough physical activity during the pandemic – walking, cycling, gardening and cleaning.
“Call friends and do online classes together, help your family members, do it as a family. And whenever you can, get out,” said Fiona Bull, head of WHO’s physical activity unit.
Research on the deleterious effects of silence has grown in the last decade. The result, led to new suggestions. Bull added, for people who work on an office basis, they must limit sitting time and do more activities to compensate for sitting time.
Pregnant women and mothers undergoing the puerperium are included in the recommended 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week for adults. This brings health benefits to both mother and baby, according to Juana Willumsen, a WHO technical officer.
“For example there was a 30 percent reduction in gestational diabetes among women who were physically active during pregnancy,” he said.
Adults over 65 years of age are advised to increase muscle strengthening and activities that focus on balance and coordination to help prevent falls later.
Wrist or hip-worn devices that track physical activity are helpful for all, says Bull.
“Monitoring how active you are is very good input. That’s important because we tend to think we might be more active. We tend to underestimate how much time we spend sitting around.” Concluded Bull. (Yanurisa Ananta)
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