Women’s Health: 10 Tips for Getting Back into Physical Activity

Abandoning physical activity increases the risk factors for many pathologies. On the occasion of the Olympic Games, the association Acting for women’s hearts therefore takes the opportunity to provide some recommendations to French women who wish to gently include more movement in their daily lives.

“Doing sports on the weekend will not compensate for being sedentary during the week”

To get back into the habit of moving, the non-profit organization invites women to:

– favor travel by public transport;

– remain standing on public transport during journeys;

– do not hesitate to get off a few stops before the destination;

– travel by bike when possible;

– always take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator;

– reduce the time spent in front of screens and replace it with any activity that gets the body moving (walking, cycling, sport, gardening, etc.);

– get up for 1 to 3 minutes every hour when working sitting down (go get a glass of water, a coffee, stretch, get some fresh air, etc.);

– get into the habit of making phone calls or participating in video meetings while standing;

– be consistent in the efforts provided;

– stay active when entering menopause.

“The most important advice in all of this? Practice moderate physical activity daily,” completes the institution. “Doing sports the weekend will not compensate for the sedentary lifestyle week. No one would think of brushing their teeth for an hour on Saturday and not at all for the rest of the week! It’s the same thing for physical activity”, she emphasizes.

“Staying active when entering menopause can dramatically and positively change quality of life and make a big difference to a healthy aging”, Professor Martine Duclos also develops, head of the sports medicine department at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and ambassador for Acting for Women’s Hearts.

Only 6% of girls in France engage in daily physical activity

More than a third of French women (41%) do not follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding physical activity, according to a study by Public Health France published last June.

“Beyond adults, this dynamic is now anchored from adolescence”insists Professor Claire Mounier-Véhier, co-founder of Agir pour le Heart of Women, cardiologist and vascular doctor at the Lille University Hospital. “Over the past 40 years, young people aged 9 to 16 have lost 25% of their cardiovascular capacity: they run less quickly and for less time,” she reports. “And it’s even worse among young girls. The latest OECD report indicates that at 15 years old, only 6% of girls do daily physical activity in France. 13-18 year olds years spend on average nearly 4.5 hours per day during the week in front of a screen and nearly 6 hours on weekends”, she laments.

For maximum positive impact on health, men should do 5 hours of moderate activity per week compared to 2.5 hours for women.