As you know, all physical activity has beneficial effects on health. Regular physical activity makes it possible to maintain or improve cardiorespiratory capacity and to limit the risk of pathologies, in particular to protect your heart. And to prevent these pathologies, it is necessary on the one hand to be physically active and, on the other hand, to limit sedentary behavior. The two are complementary. In short, if you go to the gym twice a week, but the rest of the time you sit at your PC, you are not considered “active”.
And rest assured, you are not alone! The French are too few to practice enough physical activity, according to a study published this June 9, in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin of Public health France. The study is based on a survey (Esteban) carried out between 2014 and 2016. What should we remember?
Women are increasingly sedentary
Compared to 2006, the date of the previous survey, the data collected show that men are increasingly active, while the level of physical activity is decreasing among women. In fact, 71% of men and just over half (53%) of women do enough physical activity. During the previous survey in 2006, 63% of both sexes met the recommendations for physical activity. “These results highlight the need for joint intervention to increase the population’s level of physical activity and limit the time spent in sedentary behaviors, comment the authors of this study. It is necessary to act on these two factors independently of each other and in a targeted manner according to each person’s needs. Particular attention should be paid to women, in whom these factors have deteriorated more markedly over the past 10 years.
The situation is even more worrying among childrenwith “only half of the boys and a third of the girls” with sufficient physical activity, i.e. at least 1 hour per day with moderate to high intensity, with no change since 2006.
The fault of the screens?
The study also points out that the daily time spent in front of screens has increased sharply in recent years, both among adults and among children. Eight out of ten adults say they spend 3 hours or more a day in front of a screen outside of their professional activity, compared to just over half (53%) in 2006-2007, a more marked increase among women.
And you, do you do enough physical activity?
Remember that physical activity is defined as “any bodily movement produced by the muscles that requires the expenditure of energy”. It thus encompasses physical activity carried out during leisure time, games, physical education, sports, travel, professional or even domestic activities.
According to the WHO, physical activity is:
- a moderate-intensity endurance activity, to be practiced during 2h30 per week
- or strenuous activity to practice for 1h15
- To this must be added a few exercises of muscle building (pilates, yoga, fitness…), ideally twice a week.
Read also
- 8 good reasons to practice physical activity
- Sports at home: 15 tips for doing sports at home (without equipment)
