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

I’ve tried to have a think about why I felt so defensive reading this post last night and why I definitely exaggerated my reaction to try to prove a point. Of course I know that there are benefits both short and long term to exercise, I’m not stupid.

But I can’t do it all. There are lots of risk factors in life and many genetic which we have limited control over. I’ve spent the last year very slowly losing weight (3st) and it feels like a huge achievement then your read posts like this and think why bother because apparently I’m still going to die young with all of these ailments.

I don’t smoke
I drink alcohol in moderation
I don’t take drugs
I get fresh air every day
I don’t live or work in an area of high pollution
I’m now back at a healthy bmi
I eat well
I drink lots of water
I get plenty sleep
I look after my skin & teeth
I have a happy relationship
I’ll take HRT when the time comes

surely if what gives is I don’t do much exercise then it’s not the end of the world.

the thread to me has the same tone as someone coming on and saying ‘I’m teetotal/a vegan/thin and you should all be too, I don’t understand why anyone possibly wouldn’t be - if you just tried harder you could be as amazing as me’

the pressure from society is enough without it.

good on you, I’m pleased for you - but I find it hard to believe that many people who aren’t thin/vegan/teetotal/gym bunnies are ever going to change because of a thread from someone who is. People who are fat or unfit know they are, trust me, they know the risks- they don’t need it pointed out to them with a big dose of scaremongering. While I’m sure it was well intentioned it doesn’t help anyone who wouldn’t have done it anyway.

Why? Because of the long term health implications of not exercising? This is what this thread is about...

Yes, but even that doesn't make me want to do it. I was supposed to be doing a degree alongside work for the long term financial benefits it would have given my career... I stopped doing it because I didn't have the motivation or desire to do the work. Long-term implications aren't really what makes me do something.

What about a short term buzz?

Get a bike, it's the closest a person can come to flying once you get your confidence

Totally. I hated PE, and the humiliation of being bad at a team sport with people sniggering about you. I haven’t done any sport since, and cannot conceive how anyone can enjoy it.

We were taught that being good at a team sport was all that matters, and not how to enjoy your own body and what it can do. Moving your body became associated with shame, not enjoyment or pride.

I still can’t bear to do exercise near anyone else. The idea of park run makes me want to be sick. I can just about bear a short circuits class as long as I don’t look at anyone else.

I’m sure a lot of us feel the same.

There is no short term buzz for people like me from exercising. It’s horrible, painful or dull at best. I have never experienced any endorphin from any kind of exercise. Ever.

I honestly think that working hours are to blame.

You get couples with two kids who are both working 40 hrs a week and they wonder why they're perpetually knackered and miserable.

We need a drastic cut to working hours in this country.

Nobody should do more than 30hrs long term. Nobody.

I did 80hrs for a few months- you will damage your mental health if not your physical.

What about a short term buzz?

Get a bike, it's the closest a person can come to flying once you get your confidence

I don't really get one. Well, I tried an activity one time that is location dependent (think swimming or tennis) and I enjoyed that, but again, can I be bothered to regularly travel to do the activity? Not really. Not when there are things I could do at home that are immediately more gratifying. There isn't much point owning a bike here as I'd have to use the roads with it and I'm not doing that. I don't own a car though, so do I walk I suppose.

I agree with this

That's a shame.

Though have you ever heavy slogged it up a hill on a bike then went *
*
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

On the way down? Never?

I’m like this - and I think this is what the op doesn’t seem to want to actually grasp when she asked why people don’t prioritise exercise. After a day full of doing boring, difficult, sometimes unpleasant chores and work, if I have 30 minutes free for myself I do not want to spend it doing another boring, difficult, and unpleasant chore. No matter how ‘gentle’ and accessible the exercise video is, or how easy it is because you can just use tins of beans, I won’t get the same enjoyment from it as I will from reading a chapter of my book or relaxing with a cup of tea.

Perhaps you should read the references... Or maybe you lack sufficient motivation?

Are you trying to help by individually motivating women on Mumsnet by being mildly judgy and giving them YouTube links? 😂

Probably because women who jog get abuse; women at the gym get judged and objectified.

I don't think it's as easy as you suggest.

For people who struggle with this, I really recommend:

Ranjan Chatterjee's books and podcast, in particular his "kitchen 5" work out - I don't do his workout exactly, I do my own version of it but the general concept of keeping weights to hand and taking 5 mins to go through some exercises works for me - I do it while the kids are having a bath, they often count my reps and give me encouragement

Gretchen Rubin's stuff on habits - especially understanding what helps you to develop and maintain good habits.

I personally turned it around a bit for myself on exercise by not listening to people who enjoy it - I realise it's important but I still hate it, I therefore focus on getting most benefit for time spent. 1 hour with a PT and then using every odd moment possible to do quick sets of weights. And walking/cycling which is a given as we don't have a car.

@QuertyGirl I get the ‘weeeeeeee’ it’s a bit like the break in a contraction when you’re in labour- a pleasant relief but definitely not enough to make me want to do it regularly

Yes but that's not enjoying exercise, I didn't enjoy cycling up, just going weeeee on the way down. I would very happily sit on a bike downhill all day!

Which why I ride a bike - twatty men can't catch me

I still get abuse when I do that. How. And I've been knocked off into the road and called a fat whore. But how nice you're better at cycling than me
I don't exercise because of men

Not all of them. I have run all my life and have never been abused.
Maybe I get judged and objectified at the gym (and indeed when I'm out running), but I wouldn't know, unless they are vocal about it.

I fully acknowledge that many women feel vulnerable out running alone, or even in groups, but there are also millions of women who enjoy running and going to the gym.

Not a risk I'm taking. The public sphere is unsafe. Not all of women experience that is just the Not all men argument. Just a matter of time and chance

The majority of people have time to exercise, they just don’t prioritise it.

If you’ve got time for pissing about on your phone then you’ve got time to exercise. It doesn’t all need loads of time and equipment.

And the exercise haters should try lots of different things, one of them will be tolerable to you. Whatever you do, don’t put other women down for exercising or discourage them from doing it.

Look at the older generation though. Those in their 80's and 90's now. They didn't have any formal exercise, they didn't have goals for movement, or vegetable consumption. They are the longest lived generation so far. They just walked more, had fewer labour saving devices, were outside more, ate basic uncomplicated food.

I go to the gym five or six times a week. As much for the social aspect as the exercise.

The Blue Tits open water swimming community is a great thing to look into if you want a female, inclusive, fun pastime.

Oh for gods sake, I didn't mean it like that and I'm sorry that happened.

I've had crap shouted at me but hey, they can't catch me

Hope you reported them for knocking you off the road- how did they do it? There are drivers who treat cyclists like pests (they are men and women) which is why I run a camera and report them to the police.

It's very hard to sexually assault or physically get a hold of a bike moving at a clip. It does take confidence.

They didn't drive everywhere