I'm responding to the AP article at CCN.com:
90 minutes of exercise? Yeah, right.
I suppose I should wait for the actual release of the recommendations by the government, but just going by the AP article, the government is overemphasizing exercise to a ridiculous degree.
People need 30 minutes of physical activity on most days to ward off chronic disease.
Once out of their 30s, most people don't exercise. People will not keep up with an exercise program that is not fun. Those that find an exercise they like, whether it's a sport or an exercise machine or walking or whatever, will keep it up. Those unable to find an enjoyable exercise program, which is most people, will not exercise except for a one or two month period after a New Year's resolution or a lecture by their doctor. This is reality. Government sanctioned nagging to increase exercise will not work.
Exercise has its downside. It wears and tears on the body. I had hip replacement surgery because competitive tennis for 40 years wore it out, and the risk of death for this procedure is far from zero. Many factors of health are inherent in the individual. Jim Fixx, the author of the book of running that set off the running craze of the 1980s, died of a heart attack in his 50s, still running miles every day. Recent reports show that sports injuries are way up. Studies have shown that some people have makeups that exercise will not help. The point is that the issue is far more complicated than just recommending that everybody should be exercising at least 30 minutes almost every day.
To prevent unhealthy weight gain, people should spend 60 minutes on physical activity on most days.
There is no doubt that obesity is unhealthy in the extreme, but what is obese? I understand the risks of anecdotal accounts, but a story from my own life is very relevant here. A few years ago I discovered that by government measures I was slightly into the overweight area. I dieted and dropped 20 pounds to bring me into the midrange. The result? My stamina on the tennis court disappeared. I couldn't go more than 15 or 20 minutes without huffing and puffing and having to sit down to rest. I put the 20 pounds back on and was fine. Of course, I am now once again overweight by the government measure (unless it's changed again, perfectly possible, of course).
By the way, I'm 5'10", 180#, 34 inch waist, and of course I was much lighter when I was much younger. "Skinny" is the word that was applied to me most of my life. When I was young I couldn't gain weight no matter how hard I tried, but I gained weight naturally after I passed age 40. I've actually gained and lost weight several times, and it was only the last time that I made the correlation between weight and conditioning. You can easily overdo the weight-loss thing. If you're not regularly engaged in heavy exercise you won't realize it, but if you lose too much weight you're weaker, not stronger. I thought lugging less weight around the tennis court would be to my advantage (not to mention being easier on the joints), but there's a tradeoff. Of course, everyone is different, and everyone else's experience in this regard will be different, which is why I'm writing this to say, "Don't listen to government recommendations!!!!"
Still, most people don't have to worry about weighing too little, and obesity is a very legitimate health concern. But it is as hard to stay on a diet as it is to stay on an exercise program. Almost everyone's experience with dieting is that at some point the willpower is worn down by the hunger and you put the weight back on. After a year or two you go through the whole process again. And again. And that's the way things are going to stay until someone invents a filling food that tastes good but has no calories. Government should be putting their efforts into finding this miracle food instead of making recommendations that for the most part will only increase guilt, not health!
--Percy
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