Why 30 a Day?

What happens if I am not active enough?

Getting older is obviously something you can’t control but how you age is something you can make a real choice about.

If you choose to be inactive as you get older your quality of life may be adversely affected. Your body becomes stiffer and your movements more awkward. 

You may notice some of the following happening:

• you have less agility
• you have less energy
• you don’t look or feel as good as someone who is active
• you begin to lose your independence

Don’t we slow down as we age?

Children playing in a playground move around the climbing frames quickly and easily.

It is partly because of youth, partly because of a lack of fear and partly because they are so used to doing it. They do it regularly, so it’s easy for them to lift their legs and swing their arms about.

As you age you are naturally less agile but many people add to this natural decline by not being active enough every day.

The less often you bend down to pick something up the harder it becomes to do it. You become stiff and a bit awkward about it and put it all down to just getting older. You kid yourself into thinking that you have no control over it. But you do.

To age in an active or inactive way is a choice you can make.

Staying independent

Being inactive means that you start to lose your independence, albeit slowly. How many of us depend on either a younger or fitter friend to run ahead to the bus stop to get the driver to stop or to reach behind the cupboard when something has fallen down?

Being independent is a vital ingredient for a good quality of life and staying active helps you to bring much of the independence of your youth into your old age.

Health risks of being inactive

Being inactive affects your quality of life and it can also shorten it.

If you don’t stay active you increase your risk of developing a long term and potentially fatal condition such as coronary heart disease or high blood pressure. 

You may also gain weight, especially around your middle and this means that you are more likely to develop diabetes.

You may also increase your risk of suffering from:

• a stroke
• some cancers (such as colon cancer)
• dementia
• high blood pressure

Any questions?

If you have specific questions on heart health you can talk to an information officer from the comfort of your own home on our Heart Information Line 08450 70 80 70.
Lines are open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9am to 5pm and 8am to 6pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

See also:

Why do I need to do 30 minutes a day?

Looking good, feeling good

Margaret dances her way to fitness