Durban - The eighth Vitality Wellness and Fitness Convention at Sandton International Convention Centre was attended by more than 1 200 fitness and medical professionals.
The SA Sports Medicine Association hosted a series of events on the preventative and therapeutic benefits of physical activity.
We also used this opportunity to launch the global “Exercise is Medicine” (EIM) initiative in SA. The programme was founded four years ago by the American College of Sports Medicine and we were fortunate to secure the vice-president of EIM, Dr Adrian Hutber, as a guest speaker.
The main objective of EIM is to get people of all ages around the world to exercise more in order to derive health benefits.
The model encourages doctors and other primary health-care professionals to include physical activity as a “vital sign” which is regularly assessed at each patient visit alongside blood pressure, weight and heart rate.
Goals
Based on each patient’s clinical profile, physical activity is then formally “prescribed”, just like a medication would be.
It is then up to biokineticists, fitness professionals, primary health-care nurses and organisations such as the African Physical Activity Network and gym chains to provide the environment to “dispense” the prescription and assist individuals in achieving their fitness goals.
Regular physical activity and a prudent diet are the closest we can get to the elixir of eternal youth. The anti-ageing and health benefits of raising a sweat are now beyond doubt.
As I write this, I am at a conference on “pain” in Milan.
At this conference it was deemed important enough to devote a session to the role of physical activity in the alleviation and management of chronic pain. It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it’s true.
What, then, has this to do with our schoolgoing offspring?
The risk for developing chronic disease later in life starts at this young age.
The risk of developing osteoporosis in middle-aged women has already been determined to a large extent by the time our daughters are 20.
Obese kids are more likely to become obese adults and the future risk of developing heart disease or diabetes starts in childhood.
To counter the explosion of chronic diseases of lifestyle, we need to encourage all children to get enough physical activity and to discourage the growing scourge of increasingly sedentary behaviour.
The most meaningful and ultimately appreciated legacy that you can leave your children is an innate love of being physically active.
Encourage participation in traditional school sports such as soccer, rugby, cricket and hockey, but also promote participation in some of the less mainstream activities like canoeing, mountain biking, multisport events, hiking, tennis, cycling, surfing and trail running, many of which can be undertaken as a family.
It is these activities that they are more likely to continue enjoying into middle age and beyond.
In addition to this, if you can also instil in them a love of nature and the outdoors, as my parents did, then you are more likely to succeed.
Take advantage of the wonderful natural environment we are blessed with and use it to improve the health of your children, your family as a unit and yourself. - The Mercury