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

A lot of the replies here center around three factors:
Time
Money
Safety in the environment

Essentially - money.

Many women don't have anyone to take the kids off their hands while they exercise.
Many women don't have a safe or congenial place to go running or walking.
Many women don't have the right footwear and can't afford it.
Many women can't afford a gym or a monthly app fee.

to go for a walk is free.
to do own body weight strength exercises is free.
dancing like crazy sith dc at home is free.
tumble about with the kids in a park is free.

and those set a good example for kids as well.

Was going to say exactly the same thing. There is so much you can do that is free. You tube has amazing trainers posting stuff all the time- for free. Could be dance, weights, walking, cardio, yoga.
I don’t go to a gym. I also work out barefoot.

It's not just about the money though is it? By the time I've done my FT demanding job for the nhs, im too knackered to do pilates on my living room floor. Im lucky though as my job is quite physical and i do lots of steps at work.

I have just placed an order for a 10kg weighted vest. I have been dithering about it for months- would it be yet another item I don't use much? But it will be good to add to leg days when I do weights and for walking.

I don't think money has been a big factor actually - I would say energy in place of that.

Maybe this is just me but I do have money and lots of exercise options are free anyway, it's energy. And not just physical energy, emotional energy is lacking

Yep, there is lots of good free stuff we can do. However walking / running - as mathanxiety said - many women lack a safe space for this, or just do not feel safe. This is a significant barrier for exercise particularly for women.

I live in a decent, middle class suburban neighborhood - looks and feels safe. No obvious dangers. However both DH and I work in social service type positions, so we are well aware of the rapists and violent criminals who live within a 15min radius of our house. Literal convicted child rapist bailed to a house two streets over. One of our clients was beaten half to death on a local walking track in broad daylight in a random attack. More than one woman has been sexually assaulted on our town's most popular track.

So yes - I have definite pause for thought when walking the neighborhood. It doesn't stop me, mostly, but it's not great either. I try to be both aware but not think about it too much otherwise I'd never go walking.

Thanks for this thread. It motivated me to do some yoga before bed yesterday.

I fitted in exercise while the kids were doing activities for years - a long run home from Beavers drop off, a cycle ride during a riding lesson (we had cycled there), we briefly tried climbing but when they insisted a parent stay on site for the kids sessions even though ds was 12 we stopped. Have started again now he is 15 and allowed to be left.

But each child has never had more than 2 activities per week so me and DP also had evenings / weekend days to pursue our own interests.

I walk or cycle to work too (about 2 miles) and like pp have plenty of colleagues who drive similar or shorter distances. My fitness was at its worst in 10 years during the pandemic due to losing this incidental exercise.

Mostly what I’m reading here is ‘excuses’ tbh

To be clear, I'm not advocating for no exercise, or against workarounds or suggestions. However I do think significant barriers to women exercising are being treated on here a bit like it's just precious little girls not wanting to break a nail. Whereas what I'm seeing is women with real issues being honest about why they struggle with it. Or why they've given up. Understanding and compassion goes a long way to addressing the problems constructively.

For many (not all) it's cars.

They've distorted peoples perceptions of how far they can walk or cycle.

I had a discussion on here the other day where people were insisting that you have to be "super fit" to use a bike in an area with hills, as your main mode of transport.

They have no idea what their bodies are capable of due to years sitting in cars.

And many women do just fine without all of that.
It's really not that expensive to do 10 minute fast cardio workout at home to give your cardiovascular system a bit of happiness.
Actually, it's free.

Problem here is that everyone keeps talking about money and 90 min needed and this and that and that. And shower.
Do short bursts, free at home, before shower time🤷🏻

do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
From nhs. And no walking isn't vigorous exercise.

I agree with others that se are simply excuses because most people don't want to say "well, i just don't want to". Most of us don't. Most of us also don't want a quadraple bypass before 50

This is a really common misconception bless you, we've all been there and I've learnt the same lesson a few years ago. ' Running round after kids' and walking are of course really good for you. BUT, they're not typically improving actually cardiovascular fitness enough and not much for muscle tone which we start to lose anyway as we get older. It's just not enough on its own

So true
I used to go to the gym ages ago and could lift decent weights. Yesterday I could literally only lift the lightest ones on the machines.
I can walk and walk all day long, probably around 10 miles before I feel the burn in my calves but climbing the stairs makes me out of breath.

Yep, most people vastly underestimate how many calories they consume and massively overestimate how many calories they burn with exercise. I get irritated by the 'exercise does not help you lose weight' brigade on here and I immediately question the nature of the 'exercise' these people claim they are doing.

Yep, most people vastly underestimate how many calories they consume and massively overestimate how many calories they burn with exercise. I get irritated by the 'exercise does not help you lose weight' brigade on here and I immediately question the nature of the 'exercise' these people claim they are doing

Oddly (perhaps not oddly to people in the know) I've found recently that I need to eat more to lose weight, about 1800 calories a day.

I can, and have stuck to eating far less in the past but it's not sustainable, I was losing out on iron, fibre and other important nutrients and your body thinks there is a famine so desperately tries to hold on to the weight.

Most diets put you on a default 1200-1400 calories- probably as they build in people under recording or under estimating. At 1800 I do have to be completely honest about recording everything, but I'm more likely to be as it's easier to stick to!

Very easy to go wrong with eating a little too much or a snack here and there.

I used to exercise regularly before DCs. 3 classes a week plus gym and the occasional swim.

Worked FT and volunteered for a charity. Also doing OU degree.

Of course my time was my own.

Since DCs arrived its been difficult to keep up any regular exercise (eldest is 18 now). Time constraints, lack of childcare, work, fatigue. Oh and being fat shamed really put me off. Y'know when random men decide you're too fat to be running. (I wasn't, but it was enough to discourage me). I haven't done any real consistent exercise for the last 3 or 4 years. I walk sometimes, I've tried rejoining a gym, and restarted couch to 5k. My heart isn't in it.

I'm overweight by a considerable amount, my joints hurt, and I'm tired. Getting back in the habit is proving difficult. I like being fit and healthy but right now it seems an insurmountable problem.

Once again, excuses is what op asked for. She asked why women don’t exercise more. Anything other than ‘I have no arms and legs’ will be brushed aside as an ‘excuse’ because op didn’t actually want to hear why women feel they can’t exercise, she wanted to patronisingly tell us we need to do YouTube videos and minimise people’s answers by brightly insisting it only takes 10 minutes and we can just use cans of beans.

And as for us all getting our exercise ‘tumbling round the park with the kids’ what is that supposed to look like in real life? How is that supposed to be real sustained exercise?

Those are poor excuses. As long as you have a six foot square space you can exercise for free with your kids in the same space barefoot (as I do).

You would have to do massive amounts for it to make considerable difference to weightloss.
However, that shouldn't doscourage because exercise does help with posture, firmimg, strrenght, MH, energy levels and list goes on.
But you really don't lose wight just by picking up exercise unless you will do it on extreme level.

Anyway, the fitness in these articles is more about cardiovascular health usually rather than weight itself.

I think this thread also shows how people think exercise is for when you need to lose weight, going by how many people immediately jump to weight. Exercise is for anyone of any weight. You can be slim, non active and get heart disease issues at 50 as the active overweight person.

Depends on how you define 'massive'. I row competitively so spend a lot of time on the water or on an erg machine. I wear a heart rate monitor so can accurately track how many calories I am burning. Me going out for one hour (10km) in my single at moderate intensity I will burning around 600 calories, if I am giving it beans (max intensity) that will be knocking on the door of 900 calories. If I am on the erg machine at home a 40-50 min session, again depending on the intensity, UT1, UT2 etc, I will burn between 450-600 calories. I appreciate rowing is a niche sport and not everyone can jump in a boat but rowing machines are accessible to many and in my opinion offer one of the best forms off full body exercises out there and if used properly can help you burn a 'massive' amount of calories. Using an erg three or four times a week for 45mins is at least 1200+ calories being burned which is quite a lot. I am a big fan of quality over half arsed quanity. When I am using the gym near my office I see so many people just bumbling about for an hour, not really engaging properly with equipment or looking like they are elevating their heart rate for any kind of sustained period. Some of those 'bumbling' people are work colleagues and they talk a good game back in the office about 'going to the gym' which is technically true but I can't see much evidence of a work out and I have no doubt they are probably over estimating how many calories they have actually burned. These are the same people who will eat three or four chocolate digestives (85 calories each) throughout the course of the day which amounts to more then a McDonald's hamburger.

I never paid for gym or subscription. Also I exercise barefoot in my kitchen. Those are really poor excuses. The only valid one is looking after kids.

You really can't compare competitive rowing with standard exercise most people do😂
10k row on water IS massive amount of exercise.

Also your calorie burns totally differ to what I am apparently burning on my rowing machine.
People are often overestimating, yes you were right.

Hence me highlighting the use of an erg machine which anyone can use and something that any gym worth its salt will have several of. There is no reason at all that use of said machine can't be part of a 'standard exercise' programme by your average person embarking on a new get fit programme. Of course what you burn during exercising will vary between individuals based on your existing weight and cardiovascular fitness but you will burn calories if exercising properly (i.e. not one of the above mentioned 'bumblers'). I am convinced the proponents of the 'exercise is not great at weight loss' mantra have no idea what an actual proper work out is which is why they are perpetually disappointed by the results.

A 65kg 5'2" 40 year old woman doing a moderate (UT2 - ie an intensity which can be held for the full duration, and should be comfortable enough so the person is able to speak throughout the erg and about 65-75% maximum heart rate) for 45 min will burn 300 calories. That is entirely possible for your average person without being part of some elite training programme. Do that three or four times a week and it will make a difference.