Risk of Lack of Physical Activities

It’s no surprise that exercise has numerous benefits, such as keeping off excess weight, making your bones strong, keeping your heart healthy and most important part brain remains healthy. On the contrary, not exercising can have adverse health effects. It can make your bones weak, cause your organs to malfunction and cause you to gain weight, which might lead to one or more obesity-related medical conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension.

MuscleAtrophy

Muscle atrophy is the medical term that describes the process of your muscles wasting away. When your muscles are not exercised to their full capacity, they begin to break down, according to the American Council on Exercise. Not only does this cause you lose lean muscle mass, but it also causes fatty tissue to develop around your muscles. Muscle burns fat, so when your body does not have much muscle, your metabolism slows, and you begin to gain weight.

CardiacDecline

Lack of exercise can also cause fatty deposits to develop around your heart and in your arteries, notes the American Council on Exercise. Fatty deposits can also enter the valves and chambers of your heart, which can lead to heart failure or a heart attack. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2006, approximately 2.4 million Americans died from heart disease, and heart disease is still one of the leading causes of death in America.

The study was carried out by a collaboration of international academic researchers on behalf of the Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group. The report stated that the research received no direct funding.

The researchers stated that strong evidence shows physical inactivity increases the risk of many major adverse health conditions including:

·       Death (from any cause)

·       Coronary heart disease

·       High blood pressure

·       Stroke

·       Metabolic syndrome (including obesity and abnormal blood cholesterol levels)

·       Breast and colon cancer

·       Depression

This link is a major public health issue. The researchers aimed to quantify the effect of physical inactivity on these major conditions by estimating how much a disease could be prevented if inactive people were to become more active and to estimate the gain in life expectancy this could produce.

LACK OF EXERCISE INCREASES RISK OF DISABILITY

DISABILITY can be defined as the difficulty or dependency in carrying out activities essential for independent living and to rely on someone.

Lack of exercise and poor diet leads to high increasing risk of disability factor. Physical inactivity among youth produces disability in their elder life. Poor diet is also damaging the health of teenagers. Fast food in excessive amount is producing various diseases among them. Those who do not ate fruits and vegetables in routine life and relying just on junk food, may increase the disability factor. Researches have shown that those who ate less than one portion of fruits and vegetables a day increased their risk by 24%.

According to a survey those who lived a lifestyle with low physical activity had a 73% increased risk of developing disability over the age of 65. Students and job professionals are likely to work at the same place without physical movement and exercise, and in this way they are not able to maintain their physical condition healthy and fit. They have not enough time to give to sports or any other healthy activity. They have to remain sited for hours in class rooms and offices to do their work. To prevent long term health problems we need to adopt the healthy lifestyle such as healthy physical activity, a healthy diet, drinking sensibly and not smoking and eat fresh fruits on regular basis. It has been noticed that the unhealthy behavior leads to disability such as cancer, high blood pressure, depression, diabetes and the list goes on.

Participants who reported low or intermediate physical activity had a 72% increased risk of disability while the increased risk was 24% for people who consumed fruits and vegetables less than once a day and 26% for current or short-term former smokers

Effects of Physical Inactivity on Various Parts of Body

DisuseSyndrome is the generic name for a physical state caused by bed rest, immobility and/or a lack of physical activity. Physical Immobility has drastic effects on our body parts.

 When you stay immobile for quite a while, your muscles start to stiffen and this state is medically known as Muscle Atrophy. Staying inactive for long periods of time makes your muscles weak as muscle mass is reduced and carrying out everyday tasks becomes more and more difficult. Lots and lots of results in loss of protein and it can affect you in many ways as protein is the most important building block of our body. Bones also require some sort of physical activity in order to keep functioning properly. Ligaments are extremely important in our body movements and by indulging ourselves in physical activity we provide them with oxygen and consequently strength, flexibility and endurance of our ligaments increases.

The sole purpose of our heart is to transport oxygen and antibodies to all parts of the body. The efficiency of heart decreases by inactivity. Heart supplies oxygen through red blood cells and the amount of these cells decreases by physical inactivity. This leads to blood clots, heart diseases and chronic diseases.

Physical exercise increases the working ability of different hormones including Insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps in oxidizing and assimilating blood sugars. Physical activity decreases the chances of diabetes.

Physical inactivity also affects our senses. The sensitivity of vision, hearing and taste is reduced. It also causes the body temperature to fall due to which day/night rhythms of the body are disrupted and sleep patterns are disturbed. Physical inactivity also affects the nervous system and the time taken to think and react to any given situation increases.

In addition to it, lack of physical activities make our kidneys weak and causes gastrointestinal problems like disturbing appetite and altering digestion.

Last but not the least, lack of physical activities leads to obesity. Obesity is one of the major problems that our generation is facing and it needs to be dealt with o emergency basis. The sad thing is that many people think its disrespectful to make someone realize that he/she needs to keep  his/her weight in check. The craze and easy availability of fast food provides extra calories while advancement in technology has confined our young generation to mobile phones and laptops. Due to the advancement in technology, physical inactivity is increasing dramatically as people prefer playing video games and using internet rather than going out and playing different sports. Obesity can be regarded as a mother disease as it leads to various diseases like high blood pressure, heart diseases and chronic diseases.

Technology affecting people

According to a study, it is estimated that lack of physical activity in youth resulting in 5.3 million death a year.to diagnose the problem we have to see the scenario more specifically and closely. If we try to locate the main victim of this problem we see the students and white collar job holders are the prime one. Over-use of technology, focus to the studies, and long-hours sitting are the reason of problem

One of Technology innovation in the world is to facilitate the people. Although these all innovations are for the welfare of mankind to live a model life. But due to lack of knowledge people over–use it either it is modern vehicles or communication devices. It is hour of need for the technology companies to recommend some suggestions for their users to using these gadgets precisely and efficiently.

Students are also another main victim of this phenomena. Due to focus on studies especially university students do not find it an important factor. University administrations can be claim that there are various sports societies and equipment within the institution. But there is another side of picture which is only some specific students which are already involve into physical activities outside the university take part into the sports. Higher education institutions should revise their schedule structure and student’s extra-curriculum activities.

Other than students the young people who are in practical life also face this problem due to desk jobs. People working in the corporate offices and software-houses faces obesity, over-calories, and other issues. They do not find the time for the physical activity also due to all technology equipment and job needs. Corporate offices also have the same issue of same participant which already have interest in the activities take part in company’s team. There is no motivation for one who lacks. Companies have to device some code-of-conduct to all employees.in this everyone feels it obligatory. Main victims of lack of physical activities are students, technology users and white collar job holders. To indulge all the people into the physical activities their associations with that institutions can be used in this regard.

Some Alarming Facts

It is a well known fact that every individual needs to spend 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Even after knowing it, very few people tend to keep themselves fit and healthy. Physical activity seems to inversely proportional to the age.

According to a survey, 77 % children whose ages ranged from 9 to 13 years spent their free time by participating in physical activities. Only 29% high school students participated in physical activities for 60 minutes or more for entire week. 15.2% students of high schools have not participated in 60 minutes of physical activities on any day of the week.

Compiling the overall results, only 36.6% males and 17.7% females spend 60 minutes of physical activity daily. These figures are quite depressing as only about 30% people are using their energies for sake of staying fit.

According to one of the reports, lack of exercise causes as many as 1 in 10 premature deaths around the world each year — roughly as many as smoking. In 2008, 5.3 million out of 57 million deaths were caused by inactivity. The report suggested that these deaths were mainly caused by four diseases namely Heart diseases, Diabetes Mellitus, breast cancer and colon cancer. This study further tells about reduction in deaths if we increase physical activity in our daily lives. 533,000 precious lives could be saved by just increasing our physical activities by 10%. Similarly, more than a million lives could be saved by reducing our inactivity by 25%.

The scientists performing this study further calculated the data for deaths caused by these four fatal diseases from 123 countries. They deduced that lack of exercise causes about 6% of heart diseases, 7% of diabetes mellitus(type 2), and 10% of breast and colon cancers.

Human body is the best picture of human soul

The human body is the best picture of human soul. Our physical appearance and personality can be correlate to each other. We can not only blame to the youth of their lack of interest in physical activities. Our social institutions are also responsible for this phenomena. Like our educational institutions, Government laws and parents do not encourage or motivate to exercise the physical activities in personal life wholeheartedly.

The primary responsibility also applies on our educational institutions like school, colleges and other teaching centers .they give formal education to our children but the great negligence can be view from the recent past decade. Institutions are becoming more selfish to their purpose and are only producing the ‘job-seekers machines’. Sudden decline in the Morning assembly parade, PT training and game instructor are the prime evidence of this phenomena. Including the developed countries US, EUROPE etc. are facing these kind of problem.it is the responsibility of the educational institutions that they should also educate the students about the physical activities along with formal education

Government can also be blamed due to the reason that it does not encourage it through any law citizen especially youth for this practice. Every year thousands bills are passed for the welfare of the citizens. But budget for physical activities   covers meager amount. Although government arrange some marathons and indigenous games. But there should be checked on that every year the new participant should be involve in the activities rather than same professional players and amateur. And the laws should be passed on to regulate the citizen .it can also be the source of developing their interest in the games and increase in health care ratio in overall society.

   With changing behavior of society parents and their instructions are also changing. Gone are the days when parents felt proud on physical activities of their child. But with fast moving technology parents’ profoundness level has changed. Now parents do not care about the daily routine of their child.at which time their boy wakes if he has any physical activity or physical game. All the yardsticks to measure the goodness of the youth is depend upon how much they are interested in studies and how much they have knowledge of technology. Parents should make it sure that their children are participating the physical activities. They can also encourage the youth by also playing or participating in it.youth cannot solely be blamed the lack of interest in physical activities some responsibilities are also apply on the education institutions, government and their parents. They should also play their part to make the society healthier.

LACK OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN YOUTH

                                                          Regular physical activity provides important health benefits for children and adolescents, including beneficial effects on cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal health, and on academic performance as well. Physical activity patterns in youth are likely to extend into adulthood, and therefore, the establishment of a physically active lifestyle in early life is essential for the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases during the life course. A physically active lifestyle may include different kinds of physical activities such as participation in organized sports or active commuting to and from school. Nowadays, it should also include the avoidance of excessive sitting, which has recently been suggested to be a health hazard, independently of participation in physical activities.


                                                          Social Networking websites are the main cause of lack of physical activities among youth. Smart phones, Laptops, Tablets and Ipads are making our lives hell. They are marking our lives too much busy that we are not paying attention towards our parents. We are less physically active from  these  hectic things. We spent our whole day sitting in front of screens and playing video games, even we do not have time to eat a healthy food . Sitting still in front of TV or computer screens for hours is relatively common among young people. Also those children who participate in organized sports may, after training sessions, sit hours in front of screens. Internet and TV provide entertainment for 24 hours per day. Time spent with entertainment media late at night may steel time from sleeping and may also dilute the quality of sleep, leading to daytime tiredness and lack of motivation to physical activity.

                                                         The current physical activity recommendations for school-aged children state that all young people should be involved in physical activity of at least moderate intensity for at least 1 hour per day.1 However, many young people fail to meet these recommendations; the proportion of sufficiently active young people is estimated at one third, with wide variations between age groups, genders, and countries. However, alongside with these questionnaire-based surveys, we would also need objective monitoring of physical activity. Studies using direct measures of activity, such as accelerometers, have suggested higher estimates for the proportion of adequately active youths.


                                                            The recent increase of obesity among young people has been attributed to too much time spent in front of TV and computer screens. According to the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics, TV viewing in young people should be restricted to 2 hours per day to avoid negative effects on body weight and other health outcomes. Some national recommendations of physical activity for school-aged children have also mentioned guidelines for sedentary time. In Finland, national recommendations for young people state that "continued periods of sitting for more than 2 hours at a time should be avoided. Screen time with entertainment media should be limited to 2 hours per day." The expert panel who created these physical activity guidelines also wanted to give recommendations of screen time and thereby encourage parents and other important people in young people's life to discuss about excessive screen time and to restrict it if necessary. For pediatrics, it would be important to pay attention to both children's participation in physical activities and their screen time. However, further research is needed about the dose-response association between sedentary behaviors and health outcomes to more accurately define the safety level for different sedentary pursuits.

Merits and Demerits of Physical Activities

                                                         The overwhelming advancement in the field of Science and Technology has brought revolutionary changes in our lives. It made our lives easy and fast simultaneously. Unfortunately, there is another side of the picture which demonstrates negative impacts of this advancement. One major effect it had is the lack of physical activities in people, particularly youth. They have chosen Video games and internet as alternatives for a much beneficial way of spending free time.

                                                        Some Benefits of Regular Physical Activity are stated below:
∙ Physical Activities play a vital role in building and maintaining healthy bones and muscles. Therefore, young people must indulge theselves in physical activities for better growth.
∙ One of the most commonly spread disease among the youth nowadays is obesity. Its a worrying factor because obesity leads way to many dangerous diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
∙ Due to fast and hectic lives, stress and anxiety has become a part and parcel of our daily routines. Physical Activity helps in reducing depression and promotes psychological well-being.
∙ Physical Activity is a useful tool for youngsters not only because it keeps them physically healthy but it also helps in mental growth and strength. It improves concentration level and attentiveness of the students and paves way for them to get higher grades.
. Physical Activities also aids in proper working of our circulatory system. The pumping of heart remains fine and blood flow is not hindered due to constricted blood vessels.
Some of the Consequences of Avoiding Physical Activities are listed below:
. Physical inactivity leads to many diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.
. Physically inactive people are more likely to develop heart diseases like coronary heart diseases.
. Lack of Physical Activities causes depression resulting in frustration and anger. This ultimately destroys your social life.
. There is a very famous saying “use it or lose it”. If you do not use your bones, they are most likely to become weak and you may suffer osteoporosis. Physical Activity provides strength to your bones and keeps them safe from osteoporosis.
. Nowadays the most commonly used alternative of physical activity by youngsters is use of internet or playing games on computer or mobile phones. Constant interaction with radiations coming from these devices is extremly harmful for our eyes. That is one of the reasons why use of spectacles is rapidly increasing among young people.

Advancement in Technology

                                                            Advancement of technology during last ten years has put great effects on the human behavior and activites.if low-cost technology making our lives more convenient and easy. There is also another side of picture which is emerging as rapidly as innovation in world of science day-by-day. And that is “lack of physical activities in youth”. People especially young generation has become much victim of this disease Analyst refers this problem to the mother of technology “computer”. Young generation has become much lazy, obese and rude due to this ‘boon’,

                                                           One of main reason for rapid decrease in physical activities is technology facilities and busy schedules. If technology is making our ways of doing some job more efficient and less time consuming .it also impact on our behavior that outcomes in the form of laziness. Young generation even under15’s also see the video games and computer related activities more attractive than outdoor games. About 75% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 only get less than one hour of physical activity a day   Y-USA study found in it survey .

                                                            With the blessings of social media and virtual simulation like 8pool ball, FIFA etc. of healthy games   young generation miss many lessons and spirit which can only come in real physical game. Social gatherings and ingenious local games also rapidly disappearing from our culture due to this trend. This virtual world has make the youth unhealthy and hub of diseases because lack of any healthy activity make a body dull. inactivity is as deadly as smoking a study revealed.

                                                             Gone are the days when people were much close to the nature due to their morning walks and when they meet each other face-to-face .Lack of Moral values also a cause of lack of physical activities. The spirit of teamwork, dedication to achieve a task, tolerate the behavior of others are the values not available on the virtual world these are only inculcated through the physical world.

Physical Activities

                                                        The burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing globally and poses a major public health concern, a large part of which is preventable. These diseases have been strongly associated with unhealthy lifestyle habits, including inappropriate nutrition and lack of physical activities.

                                                        Although behaviors of students are considered a temporary part of college life. College Life is an important stage for individuals as at this time their behaviors are conducive to change. University and college arenas, therefore, represent an important opportunity for health. According to Physical Activity among Adults: United States, 2000 one in five adults engage in high levels of activity, but one in four are largely inactive (United States Department of Health and Human Services, [USDHHS], 2003). This report, along with many others including the Surgeon General’s Report (USDHHS, 1996) that identified physical inactivity as a major health risk factor, document the magnitude of health problems that are mounded by the lack of physical activity. Daily physical activity on a moderate basis is recommended for people of all ages especially for students.
However, a student’s motives for physical activity are also important. The most common motives identified are to improve or maintain health, improve physical appearance and enjoy a social experience (Ryan, Fredrick, Lepes, Rubio, & Sheldon, 1997). Improve physical appearance is the most common motive among students.

                                                         To understand, one must identify the type of motivation the student possesses that will influence the activities selected.

                                                        This is a report measure that the students reported how many times during a 7-day period they participated in strenuous (running, jogging, heart beat rapidly), moderate (fast walking, tennis, not exhausting), and mild (yoga, golf, minimal effort) physical activity for more than 15 minutes (Godin & Shephard, 1985). An exercise index score is calculated by multiplying each reported exercise session by its metabolic equivalent tasks (METS) and summing the results. The formula is as follows: Weekly leisure activity score = (9 x Strenuous) + (5 x Moderate) + (3 x Light).

                                                          This report procedure was done by questionnaires via a web-based design for students to be able to access it their ease. In this way students were able to complete the survey in just fifteen minutes. The responses were confidential and anonymous.

Video Games

                                                      Today physical activities are being replaced by electronic activities. Now we spend most of our time in using computers and mobiles instead of doing some proper physical activities. These electronic activities has effected is in a lot of ways e.g. they affects our physical and as well as mental health. One of the biggest effects that electronic devices do is the change of our mind set due to video games.

                                                      Video games is now a trend and they have replaced the physical activities of the children. They are now changing the proper approach of children towards life and trying to make them emotionless. For example game like GTA have been petitioned to be banned claiming that it is making children more violent. It is true up to a certain extent as there are lot of modes in game where the character in the game kill people. In this game you can do anything that you can imagine to do in real life. You can run the cars, you can use weapons to kill the people and you can rob any body and can beat people on the road. All these things are promoting violence in the young children.

                                                     *Many experts including Henry Jenkins of Massachusetts Institute of Technology have noted that there is a decreased rate of juvenile crime which coincides with the popularity of games such as Death Race, Mortal Kombat, Doom and Grand Theft Auto. He concludes that teenage players are able to leave the emotional effects of the game behind when the game is over.* so this mental trauma leads them to violence in their real life to. So we should try to be indulged in physical activities because what we do in the playground exhausts us and take away negative thoughts from our minds.