Importance of Physical Activity & Disease Prevention

Exploring the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle & the importance of physical activity to combat chronic diseases.

A sedentary lifestyle is a very serious worldwide problem. Unfortunately, physical inactivity, which has progressively increased over the past several decades, significantly increases the risk of numerous diseases/disorders, including several forms of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, coronary and cerebrovascular diseases, overweight/obesity, and all-cause mortality, among others. Unless there is a reversal of this sedentary lifestyle, the incidence of these diseases/disorders will increase, life expectancy will decrease, and medical costs will continue to rise.

Physical inactivity accounts for more than five million premature deaths each year, making it one of the most important contributors to the global burden of disease. Public health policy is beginning to be informed by this fact. Physical activity (PA) is prominently featured in the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and the targets and indicators within a global monitoring framework for NCDs. Moris Media, India's leading Digital Marketing & PR Agency explores the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle & directs attention towards adopting a healthier & physically active lifestyle.

Models For Evaluating Physical Activity Interventions

Across the existing models for evaluating Physical Activity interventions, there are several major categories for conceptualising intervention approaches, including behavioural and social, campaigns and informational, health-care based, as well as environmental and policy approaches.

To address this gap, we can organise the aforementioned approaches for PA promotion within the theoretical framework of the Socio- Ecological Model (SEM), which posits that behaviour is influenced by factors that co-exist and interact at multiple levels. The key levels of influence include the:

·    Intrapersonal (individual)

·    Interpersonal

·    Community/organisational

·    Environment/ policy levels.

The notion behind socio- ecological approach is that factors that target behavioural change do not act alone, hence a multi-level approach is deemed to be more effective.

1.  INTRAPERSONAL:

Individually adapted health behaviour change by Education on behavioural skills, goal setting and monitoring of progress, building social support , prevention of relapse into sedentary behaviour, etc.
Classroom based health education focused on providing information and adopting healthier behaviour and reducing TV-video game playing hours and laying more stress on Physical education amongst school and college children.
Healthcare based interventions to improve PA amongst patients in primary care and health clinics delivered through health professionals.

2.  INTERPERSONAL:

Family based social support targeted at problem solving and family support and interventions
Non family support groups that promote PA activities.

3.  COMMUNITY/ORGANISATIONAL:

School based physical education to improve the curriculum to increase amount spent in moderate to vigorous exercise
Workplace based including interventions at the worksite to improve physical education amongst employees (organising marathons, motivational lectures)
Community wide campaigns including multi component information approaches, PA classes in community, organising marathons and health activities and events.
Mass media campaigns- delivering messages through TV, radio, newspapers and internet via educational promotional messages. 

4.  POLICY ENVIRONMENT

Creation of/or enhanced access to places for PA combined with activities in informational outreach- wider pedestrian pathways, parks, exercising facilities.
 Community based urban designs and land use policies and practices.
Street scale urban design and land use policies and practices.
 

Conclusion

This emerging burden of chronic diseases, mainly Diabetes, Cardio- vascular disorders, Cancer and Respiratory disorders, needs to be addressed as soon as possible and the old saying of “Prevention is better than Cure” is the best way we can proceed towards securing a healthier future for our nation. Along with community and State provided interventions, an individual himself needs to inculcate healthy habits and lifestyle so as to prevent himself from the horrifying doom of chronic diseases.