WE LIVE IN DANGEROUS TIMES
There are only two phases in life - a phase of growth and development and then a phase of decline, usually starting in the twenties. But this is not due to the onset of the normal biological process of ageing, it is the result of the dangerous environment in which we live. Of course the environment has always been dangerous and in the early days of our evolution it was an environment full of dangerous animals and neighbours, with food scarce and hard to catch or find. For this reason we have evolved genetically so that our genome, as the collection of genes in every cell is called, is particularly suited for constant activity and storing fat quickly if there is a surplus of food - to lay down reserves for the hard times to come.
"But the environment has now changed to one in which we have to spend most of our waking hours sitting down at home or at work, or when travelling to and from work if we are still able to commute. In our leisure time, instead of walking to the cinema or theatre, we now have a cinema and theatre in every home - the television and the Internet. Equally dangerous, we are offered calories wherever we look or turn. Our genes are not suited to this environment and it is one of the main reasons we develop a number of diseases due to this mismatch of our genetic inheritance and the environment. Often people are blamed for their "lifestyle" causing the modern epidemics like stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and even dementia. It is clear now that Alzheimer's disease causes only about two thirds of dementia cases. It would be much more helpful to acknowledge the unhealthy environmental factors we are constantly exposed to that contribute to the epidemic of chronic diseases we now see in the population.
So, let's get going and develop a plan for walking more.
Walking more
The modern world discourages walking, jobs that require sitting down at your screen, shops that require a car to reach them and a whole variety of other constraints; we now walk much less than we did even thirty years ago when car ownership was much lower. We know that everyone will benefit from walking more, but what do we mean by the word "more".
For many years 10,000 steps was taken as the target that everyone should aim for, but in the last 5 years there has been a focus, not just on steps, but on the minutes of brisk walking. This comes from international recognition of the fact that if you want to reduce your risk of most of the common epidemics you need thirty minutes of exercise, of “moderate intensity”, at least 5 days a week. The term, “moderate intensity” means that you can hear your breath coming a little more quickly and so can others, but you are still able to carry on a conversation. This is different from exercise of “high intensity” such as running in which carrying on a conversation is impossible.
Because of this the focus is now on the minutes of brisk activity and the NHS Active10 App actually measures the minutes of brisk activity. The aim therefore is to walk at least 30 minutes a day briskly. To stick to the international guidelines doing this five days a week is sufficient to reduce your risk of, for example, cardiovascular disease, but many people find it easier just to make it a daily routine, and to do this 7 days a week, which is almost certainly better than five, for mental health as well as physical health.
The 30 minutes does not need to be taken as one single block so you can fit it into your day, for example walking briskly for five minutes between two Teams digital meetings and if you are an influential organisation you should make it a rule that all one hour meetings should finish after fifty-five minutes to allow people to capture just a few minutes of precious brisk walking.
NWS - the National Walking Service
It is now accepted that the NHS is very important for the diagnosis of disease, acute care and starting the right treatment for long term conditions. It also offers a number of very important preventive services like screening but for the optimal prevention of disease and for living well with long term health problems self care is the most important type of care. The second most important form of care is probably that provided by communities, by family members and by other people in the local community or in a digital community.
The NHS can and should provide evidence about the benefits of walking and about local opportunities which will happen as part of the new Live Longer Better system, facilitated by an amazing piece of digital technology called W:ISH which will automatically generate both evidence based knowledge about the benefits of walking and about local opportunities automatically based on a person's diagnosis and postcode. These opportunities form part of the NWS - The Walking Health Service organised by the Ramblers, Living Streets, parkrun, local authorities and the Active Partnerships of Sport England and by citizens themselves.
There are only two phases in life - a phase of growth and development and then a phase of decline, usually starting in the twenties. But this is not due to the onset of the normal biological process of ageing, it is the result of the dangerous environment in which we live. Of course the environment has always been dangerous and in the early days of our evolution it was an environment full of dangerous animals and neighbours, with food scarce and hard to catch or find. For this reason we have evolved genetically so that our genome, as the collection of genes in every cell is called, is particularly suited for constant activity and storing fat quickly if there is a surplus of food - to lay down reserves for the hard times to come.
"But the environment has now changed to one in which we have to spend most of our waking hours sitting down at home or at work, or when travelling to and from work if we are still able to commute. In our leisure time, instead of walking to the cinema or theatre, we now have a cinema and theatre in every home - the television and the Internet. Equally dangerous, we are offered calories wherever we look or turn. Our genes are not suited to this environment and it is one of the main reasons we develop a number of diseases due to this mismatch of our genetic inheritance and the environment. Often people are blamed for their "lifestyle" causing the modern epidemics like stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and even dementia. It is clear now that Alzheimer's disease causes only about two thirds of dementia cases. It would be much more helpful to acknowledge the unhealthy environmental factors we are constantly exposed to that contribute to the epidemic of chronic diseases we now see in the population.
So, let's get going and develop a plan for walking more.
Walking more
The modern world discourages walking, jobs that require sitting down at your screen, shops that require a car to reach them and a whole variety of other constraints; we now walk much less than we did even thirty years ago when car ownership was much lower. We know that everyone will benefit from walking more, but what do we mean by the word "more".
For many years 10,000 steps was taken as the target that everyone should aim for, but in the last 5 years there has been a focus, not just on steps, but on the minutes of brisk walking. This comes from international recognition of the fact that if you want to reduce your risk of most of the common epidemics you need thirty minutes of exercise, of “moderate intensity”, at least 5 days a week. The term, “moderate intensity” means that you can hear your breath coming a little more quickly and so can others, but you are still able to carry on a conversation. This is different from exercise of “high intensity” such as running in which carrying on a conversation is impossible.
Because of this the focus is now on the minutes of brisk activity and the NHS Active10 App actually measures the minutes of brisk activity. The aim therefore is to walk at least 30 minutes a day briskly. To stick to the international guidelines doing this five days a week is sufficient to reduce your risk of, for example, cardiovascular disease, but many people find it easier just to make it a daily routine, and to do this 7 days a week, which is almost certainly better than five, for mental health as well as physical health.
The 30 minutes does not need to be taken as one single block so you can fit it into your day, for example walking briskly for five minutes between two Teams digital meetings and if you are an influential organisation you should make it a rule that all one hour meetings should finish after fifty-five minutes to allow people to capture just a few minutes of precious brisk walking.
NWS - the National Walking Service
It is now accepted that the NHS is very important for the diagnosis of disease, acute care and starting the right treatment for long term conditions. It also offers a number of very important preventive services like screening but for the optimal prevention of disease and for living well with long term health problems self care is the most important type of care. The second most important form of care is probably that provided by communities, by family members and by other people in the local community or in a digital community.
The NHS can and should provide evidence about the benefits of walking and about local opportunities which will happen as part of the new Live Longer Better system, facilitated by an amazing piece of digital technology called W:ISH which will automatically generate both evidence based knowledge about the benefits of walking and about local opportunities automatically based on a person's diagnosis and postcode. These opportunities form part of the NWS - The Walking Health Service organised by the Ramblers, Living Streets, parkrun, local authorities and the Active Partnerships of Sport England and by citizens themselves.
