Why are so Many People Not Getting Enough Exercise?

Exercise ought to be considered an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, because of all the associated health benefits. Although there are some keep-fit enthusiasts who always make time for exercise, there are also plenty more people who never bother to do anything that requires some kind of physical exertion. Those who do make time for exercise recognise the benefits of an active lifestyle and so plan their day in order to accommodate exercise. The rest just dismiss exercise as unimportant, so that they do not have to confront how their lack of exercise could jeopardise their health.

Indeed, it is this indifference which makes it difficult to imagine society reaching a stage where everyone is active and thriving. Too many people today are becoming overweight and developing health problems because of their poor diet and lack of exercise. Even the fact that keeping active can help with weight management and improve people's long-term health prospects isn't enough to motivate people to exercise, as most would prefer to remain in denial about their problem. They tell themselves that they're not really that heavy or unfit and that they will never succumb to any health problems because their great-grandparents lived until they were 100.

However, there is an established link between lack of exercise, weight and health problems, which is impossible to refute. That is why health professionals recommend that individuals should be getting at least half an hour of moderate-intensity exercise, five days a week. This doesn't sound that much, but many people appear to be having difficulty fitting even this minuscule amount of exercise into their schedule. It is easier for individuals to make excuses about how they can't find the time to exercise when the reality is they would simply prefer to use their time playing computer games or watching television than going for a walk or a jog.

People have just got out of the habit of exercising. There are so many other things that people could be doing with their time which seem preferable and less challenging. Many are under the impression that they have to join a gym or take up running to tackle their fitness, not even bothering to consider that simply making an effort to walk more could help. Individuals have become so used to taking their cars everywhere and taking the easy option – such as using a lift instead of the stairs – that they don't realise how exercise could easily become part of their life. Instead, they just avoid exercise like the plague, even though it is they who lose out.