According to the federal government the average person should work out at least two and half hours a week if doing moderate activities and an an hour and fifteen minutes if doing vigorous activities. I think the governments motive for writing this article is to reduce disease, obesity, etc among Americans. This means it is the bare minimum you should exercise just to stay healthy. To me this does not seem like even enough to do that; most people (college kids especially) do that amount of walking during the week anyways.
If your goal were to lose weight you would want to follow the e-how site guideline. They say a person should work out about 6 days a week and for at least thirty minutes a day in order to stay healthy and sixty minutes a day to lose weight. They are referring to more vigorous types of exercise in this article. This seems much more reasonable, especially with the emphasis on vigorous activities. While walking is better than nothing, in order to be truly physically fit I think a person needs to do aerobic and/or muscle strengthening exercises.
Interestingly enough another government site put out a physically fit guideline that says a person should do wide variety of exercises (including aerobic and muscle strengthening) but all together do three hours a week. This site is definitely the most detailed and varied of these sites and I believe its reliable because its backed by the government.
All these sites seemed to know what they were talking about, the differences I saw were to whom the authors were writing to.
How much should you work out in a week?
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I agree with both the writer of the article as well as the previous comment. In order to maintain a healthy diet one needs to have a balanced lifestyle, which includes eating right and exercising right. If you only eat healthy food but do not exercise that does not mean you will be healthy and physically fit. Therefore, it is crucial to include both aspects when trying to stay fit. I believe the government is writing the articles in order to help prevent or reduce disease and obesity among americans.
It appears that the writer of the blog post does not agree/trust the recommendations of the first government article but does trust the second government article saying "its reliable because its backed by the government." This seems contradictory to me. Reasons for this inconsistency among government advice could be due to variances in the intended audience. Perhaps the first article is directed at the obese/inactive who need to start a lifestyle change with small steps. The second government article may be directed at the average citizen that could benefit from a more rigorous exercise schedule. Also, I do agree with both comments above that food plays a significant role in health.
The idea from the previous comments is very true; that no matter how much you work out if you are not also eating right then an individual does not have a balanced lifestyle. Obesity will only continue to rise if this is the way people are trying to lose weight or get fit. However, I feel like you are downplaying the role of walking. Especially on a campus this large, one can get a great deal of exercise, even if it is not rigorous. I believe that one can lose weight and get fit by walking around campus, meaning not catching the bus unless it is necessary, working out rigorously maybe 2 - 4 times a week, and maintaining a balanced diet. Also, people shouldn't be afraid to treat themselves too, like getting some ice cream one night as long as it is in moderation.
To lost weight isn't just about exercise. It's about a healthy combination of eating right AND moving around. And though the cafeterias "try" to serve healthy foods, salads and well, salads, we students don't really have much option on healthy food choices. And though working out six days a week 60 minutes a day seems ideal to lose weight, asking for that much time dedicated to exercise is a lot to ask for. But, if students are looking to stay healthy I'd say pay more attention to what is actually going down your body and try to stay active.
I agree with the majority of the previous comments; to be healthy you need to have a balanced lifestyle of working out and eating healthy. I do not think that there should be a set amount of time one needs to work out or a certain type of food or quantity of food because everyone's bodies are different. I do think it is important to work out a few times a week to stay healthy and in shape, but I do not think there should be set guidelines. I also think in order to lose weight you do need to watch what you're eating and how often you are working out but I do not agree with the article stating that you need to work out an hour everyday to lose weight because everyone is unique.
After reading this blog I had many of the same reactions that other people who commented had. All of the articles mentioned certainly seem to be credible, but they aren't seeing the big picture. It is the combination of all these different strategies and tips that will give people a healthy lifestyle. Being active in general, (taking the stairs), participating in vigorous exercise a few times a week, eating healthily, and even reducing stress are all huge aspects of healthy living that should be taken into account when seeking out ways to lose weight. The reason why so many articles claim to reveal a "weight loss secret"is simple though. People don't want to hear that they need a lifestyle change, they want a quick fix for health. Unfortunately that just isn't how it works.
Weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight is all about a healthy diet (as opposed to dieting), exercise, and genetics. Many articles attribute weight loss to crash dieting and exercise alone, but the fundamental make-up of a person has a lot to do with how their body stores fat. A 5'3" petite girl will never resemble a 5'8" volley ball player simply because it's not in her genes. However, people can do many things to alter their appearance within the realms of their genetic makeup. None of these quick fixes will do the permanent trick though. Being healthy is all about living healthy. It is not found in a juice diet, a pill, or the newest ab roller. A healthy lifestyle is a commitment people must make with themselves, and they should do their best to live it until it becomes habit and second nature.
Overall, many of the comments about have similar views as I about healthy living- we need the rest of america to see!
This blog brought up a good point that minimal exercise will not cut it to lose weight. I do believe that weight loss is hard to narrow down to a specific guideline because so many people have different views about weight loss. For example, some one could count weight loss as losing a few pounds but not gaining any muscle while someone else may view it as only gaining muscle. Another factor that plays a role in how someone views weight loss is people's size and physical fitness level.
I think an emphasis should be heavily put on exercising and working out but I want to know how many times the article mentioned anything about nutrition and how much a person eats. If a person works out for three hours a day and burns 3,000 calories each time, but then goes home and consumes 5,000 calories they are obviously not going to lose any weight. I agree with the fact that we as a nation simply do not work out enough but the amount a person has to work out doesn't need to be as high if a they eat the right foods and the right proportions.
The articles seem very valid in providing recommendations for people to workout, but I don't think the government can give one set statement that applies to everyone. Working out and eating healthy varies with each person because every body performs differently and each person has their own individual goals. People shouldn't just read this article and stick with what information is provided. If they need help deciding on a exercise or diet plan, they should talk to a doctor or fitness trainer to customize a routine for their own unique goals and body.
Like so many of the previous comments have pointed out, maintaining a healthy diet is possibly more important. However, there are people who do not eat healthy, but exercise a lot and end up perfectly healthy as well. I think that finding your own unique balance between the two is the most beneficial toward a healthy lifestyle. I have also heard that your everyday walking can not be truly considered as exercise and that your body requires different types of activities to maintain a good balance. I personally believe that everyone is has a different lifestyle requires their own exercise and nutrition regimen in order to maintain supreme health.
Great research! You bring up a good point about other simple forms of exercise that the government fails to factor in. Especially around the U of M campus, the average student logs several miles of walking every day! Like you, I think that the somebody should workout, on average 5-6 days per week. With an increasingly obese society, a little exercise now and then would do a person some good. I'm curious to know what you think about exercising and the psychological effects. Like mentioned in the textbook, I think that endorphins are a phenomenal pain reliever and accelerate a workout to its maximum potential.
I think that this article makes a lot of interesting points. I agree with the author of this article that the first suggested amounts of work outs doesn't seem like enough. I think these ideas have relate a lot to why America is not known for being the healthiest country and we tend to have a lot of overweight people. I also agree with people who wrote previous comments that losing weight is not always about working out, a lot of it has to do with eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle. I think that government websites that present this information should also stress that people should develop good work out habits early on, and not wait until it is too late. I also agree with previous comments in that everyone is different and you can't really set a specific type of work out for everyone when each individual would require a different routine to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I would like to establish my credibility by stating that I am an Independent business owner of a company called team beachbody. This company creates the home workout programs like P90x, which I am sure many of you have heard of as it is the #1 selling home workout program in the nation. Now, I am not here to try to sell anyone nutritional supplements, I am here to state what the company's goal is, to end the trend of obesity. Between now and 2030, there will be an additional 30 million obese American's added. this is an absolutely horrific statistic, as this is largely becoming a problem. America eats just to eat, and it will start to bite us in the butt.
I'm not sure if it is how long or the type of exercise we do is what we should focus on anymore. With obesity increasing in the country, the problem seems to be starting from what people are putting in their mouths. No matter how much you work out, if you are eating bad and replacing those calories you burned off with "empty" or double the calories post-workout, you are not better off continuing such a rigorous work out schedule. The government or these sites that promote exercise, while they are correct, they put too much attention on just working out to stay fit. The foods we eat plays a more important role, in my opinion.