Rules of invigoration

Mrinalini Saxena is an average 25-year-old. Like most of her peers, she enjoys her 10-hour corporate set-up and is often seen gorging on food at odd hours. But over the past three years, she has barely put on weight and is often noted as a ‘happy’ employee. What’s so strange, you ask? Given her odd-hour job and eating habits, Saxena should have ideally put on huge amount of weight and been bored of her lifestyle, and got affected by a few health problems in between. But she has managed to keep herself out of it. “Exercising, sleeping right and staying away from smoking and alcohol are my biggest strengths. Not to forget, a 20-minute walk every day can do wonders to your mood,” she says.

Dr Atul NC Peters, Director of Institute of Bariatric, Metabolic and Minimal Access Surgery, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, says, “There is nothing that has not been said before, but its reinforcement should hopefully make it sound more important. If you actually think that you could be fit without a workout, you are fooling yourself. Workout doesn’t always mean joining a gym. You could make your muscles work even at home, workplace or by going to the mall. Muscles need stimulus to grow and keep fit. So, keep working those red fibres in you to stay young and fit.”

In a recent survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global population—which is currently 5.8 billion, will increase by nearly 80 million people a year to reach about eight billion by the year 2025. But this also means that health problems will also increase. The report, 50 Facts: Global Health Situation and Trends 1955-2025, says that most deaths in the developing countries will be due to an abrasive adoption of the ‘western’ lifestyles and their accompanying risk factors—smoking, high-fat diet, obesity and lack of exercise.

The report says that cases of diabetes in adults will more than double globally from 143 million in 1997 to 300 million by 2025, largely because of dietary and other lifestyle factors. Cancer will remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The report also says that by 2025, the risk of cancer will continue to increase in developing countries, with stable —if not declining—rates in the industrialised countries.

Nitesh Hira, Group Exercise Manager, Fitness First, says, “A healthy lifestyle means a healthy body and healthy mind. A healthy person should be able to adapt and cope up with the situations of life. It can be as simple as changing a flat tyre on the road without depending upon any one. This means, irrespective of lifestyles, one should be able to maintain a disciplined lifestyle.”

The WHO report suggests that if a healthy lifestyle is adopted and worked on by the year 2025, it is expected that no country will have a life expectancy of less than 50 years.

Dr Peters says, “There are three golden rules to healthy living… eating a well-balanced nutritious diet, sleeping well and exercising well. Healthy lifestyle consists of fulfilling the needs of your body at all three levels of spiritual, mental, and physical. Unless this is taken care of, it is difficult to maintain one’s health.”

Doctors also insist that health for women and men could mean different things. Shivani Passi, Delhi-based nutritionist of Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, says, “The main difference lies in the fact that men have an abundance of the male hormone, the testosterone, while women have an abundance of the female hormone, the estrogen. So, when it comes to a vigorous workout, men tend to work hard on the upper body, whereas women tend to work hard on the legs and buttocks. Keeping in shape may also then reflect in their eating habits.”

Dr Anup Dhir, Chief Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon, Apollo Hospital, says that a naturally -occurring hormone may help people stay fit without exercise. But there are few ways through which we can maintain a healthy lifestyle without a workout. “A well-balanced diet helps us be healthy but should be combined with regular physical activities. Our brain works 24x7 even when we are sleeping so one needs to take care of their psychological health. Even if we are too busy or overworked, we should slow down and find some time for our family, hobbies, rest and entertainment,” says Dhir.

He suggests two remedies. “Buy a Pedometer which is a small and inexpensive equipment that tells you how much exercise you already have in your daily schedule. It is recommended that you must take at least 10,000 steps in a day to be healthy.” Dhir also adds that breathing deeply is also a must. “Start a habit to relax, sit back and breathe deep into your chest. Inhale for one to two seconds, and exhale for two seconds. Do this for two minutes at work, in the car, on the couch, while you are making dinner or before bed,” he says.