move it

Let’s move it

Your Health
DR GITA MATHAI

Whenever exercise is mentioned, “I don’t have time,” is the common refrain across all age groups — from school students to teenagers to housewives to working professionals and even retirees. Twenty-four hours do not seem to be enough to work, study, eat, sleep and squeeze in TV viewing, which is given priority over exercise. The saying “no time for exercise, a lot of time for illness” has not yet hit home.

How much exercise do we need? The ideal is one hour of aerobic activity — such as running, jogging, cycling or swimming — every day, the minimum is 30 minutes three days a week. You can even split the 30 minutes into two or three segments. And this still seems an impossible target for many.

So now doctors have come up with a workout that takes only 20 minutes. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is suitable for all age groups and is beneficial for heart patients and those with hypertension. However, check with your physician before you start this regime.

HIIT involves achieving 90 per cent of your target heart rate (220-age). The exercises are running, walking, jumping jacks, stair climbing, skipping, or toe tapping. You exercise vigorously for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of rest, repeated 10 times. You need to work up to one minute followed by a minute of rest. This 20-minute workout gives the same benefits as the hour-long run or walk.

Regular physical activity promotes health, prevents disease and helps reduce stress. It keeps students alert and active, despite fatigue. It also retards cognitive decline, memory loss and dementia in older people so annual medical costs are much reduced.

Inactivity eventually results in obesity, which causes relative infertility, arthritis, precipitates diabetes, elevates blood sugar values in those already diabetic, results in hypertension, heart disease, and abnormal lipid profiles. It is also linked to the development of certain cancers like that of the colon.

The chronic medical conditions associated with physical inactivity are expensive. Diagnostic tests, doctor’s consultations and medicines cost money. Workdays are lost as a result of illness. People may not realise their full potential as they are unable to work to their full capacity, limited by the pain of arthritis or the side effects of medications. Enforced premature retirement or untimely death cuts short the earning potential.

As we honour our women achievers this month, we should remember that women find it more difficult to be physically active. The constraints may be social, cultural or environmental. They require greater encouragement and motivation. And the biggest benefit (a reduction in illness and medical costs) is seen in women over 55 who are encouraged to be physically active.

Another thing physical activity improves is balance, which is important to prevent falls and expensive treatment for fractures. Weight bearing aerobic activity is essential for normal skeletal development in childhood and adolescence. It is needed to maintain peak bone mass in young adults. The decline in bone mass that occurs in older people can be slowed and averted with exercise. Conservative estimates say that in India 20 per cent of women over 55 and 15 per cent of men have decreased bone density. Medications (vitamin D supplements, alendronate and calcium) for this group are expensive and usually have to be added to medicines for diabetes, hypertension, lipids and heart disease and the cost increases with every new budget.

“I cannot sleep,” is a common complaint in older people. It may be due to many factors including depression. Many are on antidepressants, anxiolytics or sleeping pills, often in increasing dosages as habituation sets in. Exercise obviates the necessity for these medications.

All you really need to get started is a good pair of sports shoes (costing Rs 600 to Rs 10,000) a pair of socks (Rs100-150) and 20-60 minutes of your time, depending on whether you are going in for traditional exercise or HIIT. People spend far more to buy a car! Yet regular exercise will be far more cost effective in the long run.


Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in