Okay, so now you’ve begun addressing some of the important barriers we all face when trying to take up the challenge to improve our lifestyles. You’ve learnt the importance of behavioural change as a long-term approach to changing your eating habits.

Now it’s time to focus on physical activity, not exercise, there is a difference.

Physical activity is any muscular activity that involves significant movement of your body or limbs. Exercise is planned or structured and involves repetitive movements designed to improve or maintain physical fitness. Whilst we may focus more on exercise the critical issue remains that we just don’t do as much physical activity as we need.

Why do we need to bother?

Some diseases associated with being overweight and inactive include:

• Diabetes

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Heart disease

• Stroke

• Osteoarthritis

• Cancers (breast, womb, bowel and others)

• Polycystic ovaries

• Incontinence

Controlling body weight and improving physical activity can help reverse or prevent these issues. Physical activity is a critical component of energy balance. Taking a healthy approach to your life encompasses both focusing on physical and psychological wellbeing.

Enjoy it, feel better and stay healthy.

Most of us are aware of the importance of being physically active. Thirty minutes of walking most days (5-6 days per week) is a good start. As it becomes increasingly obvious that incidental activity (what you do all day, everyday) is vital, a broader approach to exercise is needed. Whilst it is estimated that in the past women would have walked approximately 16,000 to 18,000 steps daily to complete essentials tasks such as gathering food, wood, grinding, cooking, washing, today white collar workers walk approximately 4,000 – 5,000 steps or 1 – 1.3 km per day.

No wonder we are getting bigger. It has been estimated that we need to walk around 10,000 steps per day for weight maintenance with an additional 2,000 – 4,000 for weight loss.

How?

By developing a positive, motivated attitude to take small, simple, sustainable steps to improve your health. Changing your lifestyle can only be addressed in a lasting way by accepting it as your own responsibility and challenge.

Think of it as a duty you owe yourself. To optimise all those years of good, healthy living you wish to put ahead of you. Like a well thought out financial plan for the future, your well thought out health plan for the future is your responsibility. You can seek support and professional help, but it is still your money, or in this case your health.

So what small steps can I take?

Incidental activity

• Think of opportunities to move NOT movement saving strategies

• Vacuuming is not a pain, it is fantastic exercise (no, I am not joking)

• Mow the lawns yourself

• Take pleasure in washing the car by hand with a bucket (on the lawn)

• Hang up each piece of clothing, after you iron it, separately

• Throw away the remote control on the TV (you won’t miss it after a week) • Every time you get in the car, think could I walk instead

• Walk the children/grandchildren to or from school (they need it too!)

• Walk to the park every weekend

• Get a dog and walk regularly

• Always take the stairs when possible

• Park further away in the car park

• Walk with a friend (you are six times more likely to persist if you have a commitment to others)

• Make it fun, a social physical activity with friends (try belly dancing)

• 30 minutes every day is great (BUT 5 -10 minutes here and there throughout the day is a great start!)

• Try using a pedometer (a small device that counts the number of steps you take, it helps you become aware of your activity throughout the day and is widely available – around $30)

Are we going backwards to go forwards?

Looking for opportunities to move, instead of relying on time saving technology, may sound like the opposite of what we have achieved in the modern world. But it is cheap, effective and at the very least makes you feel that the house and garden chores are worthwhile!

The message is simple.

Use it or lose it!! If we automate everything to save time, we need to spend more time, effort and money finding alternatives for our required daily activity. So, doing things the old fashioned way, with a bit of elbow grease, could be the best thing – for your home and for your health.

Conflicting priorities

As mothers, partners, daughters, sisters, role models, family taxi drivers and workers, we are well aware of how hard it can be to make time to move or to exercise. Making it part of your routine can help and trying the tips above are a good start. But, initially, it is a matter of priority. Just as you eat, brush your teeth and wash each day, it’s important to schedule in time to move. There is no compromise on this. We owe it to ourselves for our physical and psychological wellbeing.

Our Future

Once we acknowledge the absolute priority of movement in our daily lives then we need to work out how best to prioritise physical activity in our daily lives. We are role models for today’s youth, who are amongst the most sedentary in our society. As a society we are already suffering significant health consequences of our inactive lifestyles. We simply must reverse these trends.

Ideas to get moving

An inspirational trend is catching on in our schools, called the virtual bus, where the bus driver stops the bus and walks all the children the last kilometre to school every morning. Elsewhere, parents organise rosters to walk groups of children to school each day. These measures are simple, but the benefits are great, on both a physical and a social level. Why not see how you can incorporate regular movement for your family or community?

The 10,000 Steps Challenge is another initiative aiming to provide an opportunity for local businesses in Rockhampton, Queensland, to participate in a work specific physical activity challenge. The program provides an opportunity and a platform for employees and employers to take positive steps towards better health. The motto of this program is every step counts! For further information please call 10,000 Steps Rockhampton on 07 4930 6751.

Enough said, must go. It’s midday and I still have 5,000 steps to go!

National Physical Activity Guidelines

These guidelines, developed by Active Australia through extensive consultations with a wide range of experts in physical activity, refer to the minimum levels of physical activity required for good health. They are not intended for high level fitness or sports training. For best results combine with healthy eating. In general, this means eating a wide variety of foods including plenty of breads and cereals (preferably wholegrain), vegetables (including legumes) and fruits. It also involves choosing foods that are low in fat, particularly saturated fat, and also low in salt. Only a moderate amount of sugars and foods containing added sugar should be chosen, and for those who drink alcohol, it should be done in moderation.

Dietary Guidelines for Australians can be obtained from government departments of health or community health centres.

Think of movement as an opportunity, not an inconvenience

Any form of movement of the body is seen as an opportunity for improving health, not as a time-wasting inconvenience.

Be active every day in as many ways as you can

Make a habit of walking or cycling instead of using the car, or do things yourself instead of using laboursaving machines.

Put together at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days

Moderate-intensity activity includes things such as a brisk walk or cycling. Combine short sessions of different activities of around 10 to 15 minutes each to a total of 30 minutes or more. The 30 minutes total need not be continuous.

If you can, also enjoy some regular, vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness

Vigorous exercise makes you ‘huff and puff’. For best results, this should be added to the above guidelines on 3 – 4 days a week for 30 minutes or more each time.

Seeking medical advice

Although there’s no age barrier to carrying out vigorous activity, medical advice is recommended for those who have been previously inactive, who have heart disease, or close relatives with heart disease, or who have other major health problems. For more information about the National Physical Activity Guidelines please call 1800 020 103.

Update on Jean Hailes Centre Of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE)

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of ill health in the population, with women being affected more commonly than men. Osteoarthritis involves loss of joint cartilage, which usually acts as a cushion protecting each joint. There is little evidence that available drug or lifestyle treatments alter the disease’s progression. In earlier studies we have shown that postmenopausal women who have used estrogen therapy (ET) for more than 5 years have more knee joint cartilage than age-matched non-users. More recently we have shown a positive relationship between blood testosterone levels and joint cartilage in healthy men, suggesting that sex hormones may have a protective effect against the risk of osteoarthritis.

Knee Cartilage Study

Factors affecting knee cartilage volume and bone size and change over time in otherwise healthy postmenopausal women

The aim of this study is to determine the hormonal factors, blood inflammatory markers and lifestyle factors that affect knee cartilage volume and bone size in healthy, non-hysterectomised women in their middle years and how these facts are related to cartilage loss over time.

We are using MRI technology to measure the volume of cartilage each woman has in her knee joint and then measuring change in cartilage after 3 years. To date we have completed over 100 baseline MRI assessments. This project forms the basis of a PhD being undertaken by Mr Fahad Hanna at The Jean Hailes Foundation.

Research outcomes: testosterone patch in Australian women

The findings of the study of the effects of testosterone skin patch therapy for the treatment of low libido in surgically menopausal women was presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in October 2003 by Professor Susan Davis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a testosterone patch compared with a placebo patch in surgically menopausal women with low libido who at the same time were being treated with oestrogen patch therapy in Australia and Europe. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment with either the testosterone patch or an identical placebo patch twice weekly. The main outcomes of interest were change in sexual desire and the frequency of satisfying sexual activity from a daily diary. Other outcomes included effects on personal distress and mood and wellbeing.

At 24 weeks there was a significant improvement from baseline in the sexual desire score in testosterone treated women compared with placebo (16 vs 6 units, p<0.05). The average change for women receiving testosterone was equivalent to a 71% increase over baseline (p<0.05). There was a 43% increase in the frequency of total satisfying sexual activity for those receiving testosterone versus placebo with the mean change for the testosterone group being a 115% increase over baseline.

Testosterone also resulted in a significant change versus placebo for orgasm, sexual arousal, sexual responsiveness, sexual self-image and sexual concerns and a significant reduction in personal distress compared with placebo. Average testosterone levels were at or near the upper limit of the reference range at week 24. There were no clinically significant changes in any of the laboratory measures, and overall, reports of side effects were similar in the placebo and treatment groups.

Summary

This prospective study has shown that amongst Australian and European surgically menopausal women the testosterone patch was well tolerated and significantly improved sexual satisfaction. Testosterone patches have not been approved for the use in women in any country to date but are likely to be available in the near future.

The Jean Hailes Foundation magazine is designed to be informative and educational. It is not intended that The Jean Hailes Foundation magazine provide specific medical advice or replace advice from your health professional. The Jean Hailes Foundation does not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or the use of information or advice) which is provided in this magazine or incorporated into it by reference. Information is provided on the basis that all persons reading the magazine undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. 

© The Jean Hailes Foundation. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under copyright legislation, no part may be reproduced or reused for any commercial purposes.

Note: This article is an archive. Whilst the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health has made every effort to ensure this information was accurate at the time of publication, the article content has not been updated since the date listed below. 

Content March 21, 2004