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

@aiskabash I swam a lot when I was younger and I'd say it neither helped nor harmed my joints. I badly needed to build core strength and improve my posture. The gym instructor worked with me to make a programme for that. The best cardio for me is elliptical or bike because the movement is controlled and there's no impact.

Thank you iloveeverykindofcat for the advice. Good to have options.

I agree. Most people have 10 or 15 minutes to spare at some point of the day.

This one is quite energetic, but there are many short, low impact workouts on YouTube.

Between DS and work and commute, all my energy is gone by the evening and weekend.

I wish I could afford to work 3 or 4 days a week and that it wouldn’t impact my career, so that I had more time and energy.

I kidded myself that I really was active when I was running round after toddlers. But it really wasn't enough

I dieted to a better weight, and took up running when the DC were a bit older (using the time that had been the school run)

The difference is absolutely huge. C25K 3 days a week plus 2 or 3 yoga or Pilates workouts. Now I run long distance for fun, and have so much more energy.

But if you'd said any of that to my younger self, I'd have stared at you in frank disbelief!

You can't register them as a parkrunner until they're 4 (shame, as I was going to give one family baby a barcode as a christening gift!) but they can take part at any age.

They do need to make sure (if u11) that their adult stays within arms length - except when they leave you for dust with a sprint finish!

I kidded myself that I really was active when I was running round after toddlers. But it really wasn't enough

I think a lot of people fall into that trap, which if you also snack off their leftovers is a double whammy.

I've done no exercise today. I went to the park with DC aged 3, and took them swimming. Clocked up c. 12,000 steps so far but according to my Garmin I’ll probably end the day on about 1700 calories burnt which is pretty low for me. If that was every day for me I’d be in trouble!

I know it seems like an uphill battle, but exercising energises you once you get into it. So to say you’re too tired is just an excuse really. And plenty of people work FT, commute and have DC and find the time to exercise.

If you’re struggling with the evenings get up 45 minutes earlier and go for a short run or do a YouTube workout.

I know it seems like an uphill battle, but exercising energises you once you get into it.
No, it really really doesn't! Not for me anyway, maybe I'm missing the hormone or the part of my brain that regulates that feeling is missing but I can assure you I have never felt* *energised after exercise.
Perhaps if people understood that exercise doesn't make us all feel the same it would go some way to explaining why, when people have spent all day working and looking after a family they are not in a massive rush to do half an hour on the treadmill with the tiny bit of energy they have left.

You need to spend 1.5% of your week on exercise to meet the minimum required

Or half that if it's vigorous

15 minutes a day vigorous activity

This is how I managed when a working single mum :

Short run when the kids are at brownies/swimming

If you have a husband or your children see their dad sone weeks - use him, or use that time for exercise . There is very little home work that can't be done with children "helping" or watching tv or doing homework

Joe wicks videos ( not available when mine were small ) / Nintendo games : keep fit / Nintendo just dance with the kids or something nicer if they go to bed early

@3LittleFishes exactly - me neither.

Totally doesn't mean I shouldn't do it but I get little to no pleasure from it. But it's like having a smear or eating sprouts for some of us.

Just done a Caroline Girvan workout and her weights were 12.5kg while my heavy ones were 3kg! Gotta start somewhere!

Yes, women should be getting more excercise for their health and wellbeing. But it's not helpful to present this as yet another thing to feel pressure and guilt about. Much more useful to explore why women don't find time for this aspect of self care than present it as another thing we SHOULD be doing, with the implication we are lazy or can't prioritise properly.
Every generation seems to load on something else women should be incorporating into their schedules. And yes, excercise is important, but something else needs to give for a lot of women to have time for it, and that's the problem.

Why bother asking? It’s so dismissive and rude to ask people why they don’t or can’t exercise more and then when they say they are too exhausted with the necessities of life brush it aside by saying ‘that’s an excuse, just wake up earlier and go running. Plenty of other people manage it all.’

Like op would have been as well not asking, and just opening a thread with ‘here is what I think people must do every day. If they aren’t doing it they’re lazy and making excuses, because everyone has time to do workouts in the day and I think they should.’ Rather than asking why people couldn’t/don’t then dismissing it immediately.

Absolutely, and well done💪

I started of with 3kg dumbells nearly 4 years ago. Tried various trainers on YouTube. And then, a couple of years ago, I discovered Caroline - and life has never been the same. I may swear at her, but her workouts are kind of addictive 😀

I disagree with you on this. There is no 'must' about it. Your body your choice. But in order to stay fit and strong into old age, to reduce the chance of muscle weakness and associated loss of balance and then falls then women SHOULD be pushing exercise much higher up their priority list. It's like not brushing your teeth then wondering why you have dental issues.

Right, but then there is no point making a thread asking ‘why don’t people have better dental hygiene’ then when they answer saying ‘well you need to brush twice daily for a few minutes, you need to floss, you must visit the dentist regularly. Other women manage to do it, so why don’t you?’

It was the phrasing of the op, as if op was actually interested in hearing the barriers women face to exercise, but that wasn’t the case at all!

@Businessflake and yet I managed to lose all my baby weight from DC 2 by running around after DC 1...we're all different. For example, 1,700 calories burnt per day leaves quite a lot if headroom to play with food intake wise, for me at least. I've never managed to lose much weight with more intensive exercise as I find it just makes me more hungry!