80% of women too unfit to be healthy?

[FlowerArranger]

I listened to Women's Hour while doing my workout today. In a segment on women in sport, one contributor stated that research shows that 80% of women are too unfit to be healthy.

I Googled and found a reference to a Canadian study from 2007 and CDC research from 2013:

A new (US) government study estimates that nearly 80 percent of adult Americans do not get the recommended amounts of exercise each week, potentially setting themselves up for years of health problems.

www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-80-percent-of-american-adults-dont-get-recommended-exercise/

I don't suppose British women do much better? If this is indeed true, it is is shocking.

I remember when my children were little and I was working full-time, there was little or no time to exercise in a formal way - though I'm sure all the running after them and running up and down stairs and housework and gardening kept me fit enough!

If this is you, you are excused......... but what about all the years before and after looking after children? Why don't women exercise enough to keep themselves healthy? Which the CDC defined as:

at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination of both

Personally I (in my 60s) work out most days and I feel so much better for it.

YABU - I don't see the need to exercise regularly
YANBU - regular exercise is vital

Gosh I would love to exercise properly. My excuses are I work full time and children. I work core hours 9-3 then school pick up/ activities/ dinner homework then a couple of hours later on I get a few more hours in. I am knackered I do swim with the children plus dog walking but am sure it’s not intense enough.

YANBU.

But the report shows that men are only slightly better than women at getting enough exercise so I'm not sure why you're making this just about women?

I'm just referring to today's Women's Hour. I didn't have time to research men as well. And this is Mumsnet after all 😀

@ErrolTheDragon because it was on Women’s Hour and OP is primarily concerned about women’s health on a website mainly used by women?

Yanbu but my life at the mo with kids job etc it makes it tough. But I do run about a fair bit doing errands too, take the stairs, walk the dogs etc so 🤷. I'm slim. But probably a bit soft 😂

I remember thread on this and it was something like 7 min a day of vigorous activity to keep some level of fitness from NHS website.
Apparently most people here do not have 7 minutes a day.

I think it was about heart health and visceral body fat

I do the recommended amount, that's about it.

I walk a lot as my children are in a school 2 miles away and we don't drive there. I cover around 35 miles a week and thought I'd be relatively fit.
I did a aerobic recovery test where you exercise for 3 mins, rest for 30 seconds then take your pulse and my recovery rate was dreadful. The lowest it could possibly be.
I joined the gym yesterday..

High five OP 🤣🙌

Might it be because women are socially conditioned to prioritise everyone else's needs above their own?

I admit I love sitting on the sofa. I do worry about this though

I tried to get back into some regular exercise in September using the cross trainer and gave myself plantar fasciitis 😂 going to get back.into swimming when I can, but it's tough as a single.parent

My question to people who claim to not have time to exercise is : ‘How many hours per week do you spend watching TV & on the Internet / social media on your phone?’ Very few people could honestly answer ‘fewer than 20 hours’.

I saw something in FB the other day saying something along the lines if "We tell women lots of things they can do to be less tired, but we never actually take enough of their burden away so that they have the time to be less tired".

I've not got the right words there, but the general sentiment.

And I think it very much applies here. I know a lot of fathers who are quite fit. Some do triathlons and a couple who even do Ironmans. The mothers of their children are markedly less fit. Not hard to imagine why when one party is off cycling/swimming/running for hours a week rather than sharing the burden of the house and childcare.

I go to the gym everyday. I’m size 14, 12 stone. Classed as overweight for my height. But I’m strong and fit. It’s so weird.

I agree with you OP, I can't exercise at the moment because I've got long covid but in my early fifties and the difference in fitness and good health among those of my friends who eat well and are active and those who don't/aren't is really beginning to show. I'm not talking about big obviously life threatening conditions, but arthritis, hip pain, not being able to walk long distances. It's really important

I work out that much. I have a toddler and a young child. I cook all my meals at home. Think chicken breast, veg and rice. Or beef stew. Normal, reasonable meals. We go out to eat 1-2 times a month. I have recently started skipping breakfast because I can't seem to be a healthy weight. I'm significantly overweight and I just can accept the fact that I'll have to starve or exercise more than 2 or 3 times a week to be "healthy". It's just fucking depressing man

Definitely partly women being conditioned to put others first, as pp mentions above.

Also I would add girls in school not participating in PE in the same way boys do. I think a lot of boys become passionate about sport/exercise from an early age. When I was in secondary school the girls were reduced to trampolining almost every week - girl’s sport wasn’t taken as seriously so I think a huge opportunity was missed to start us off with a lifetime passion for sport and exercise.

I have three young children and a job but I still exercise almost every day, mainly running. Yes I often have to run at 9pm after the kids are in bed or very early in the morning and sometimes I have to do a YouTube workout if DH isn't here. If I was a single parent I guess it would be the YouTube videos and not the running. I walk rather than drive places wherever possible.

I do think most people say they don't have time, but it's more that they have time, they'd just rather do something else. I'd rather go for a run than watch a box set or get to bed half an hour earlier, because on balance for me it's better for my mental health as well as my physical well being. Not everyone feels the same though and that's fair enough.

I am often surprised though by the fact the most of my friends do no deliberate exercise at all. Even walking. I'm only in my 40s (as are they if not younger) and it seems to be a bit young to have just given up on being active. Lots had gym memberships when they were younger too, so it's not as if they hate exercise. I probably do too much, but I do think that most people don't do enough exercise.

People should be building exercise into daily life rather than driving everywhere and going to the gym once a week. So many people would rather drive a 15 minute walk than walk it. And cycling is the answer for journeys up to 5 miles or so but the infrastructure to make it safe and appealing isn't there.
There will be some people who genuinely live too rurally but something like 90% of car journeys are under 3 miles and most of those could be walked or cycled if the will was there. (That is the will from the government not just individuals).

Yanbu I'm a lone parent (no support) and have prioritised my health over most things. The house has been messy for a decade but I'm fit and nearly 50, my fitbit loves me. I can tidy when the dc's move out.

Because I have long covid and just getting through the day is absolutely fucking exhausting.

Have you had your thyroid checked?
Since mine went underactive, I basically have to starve to lose any weight. Unless I eat around 1200 or less, I lose nothing.

I can have a quick look over Mumsnet while watching DS. Or when I'm sat in his bedroom with him for the three or four hours bedtime takes. I rarely watch TV anymore.

My time out from work or looking after DS is usually around 11.30-12.30 at night.