physical activity – Cardiac Wellness Institute

We often admire infants and toddlers with chubby cheeks and extra fat, blissfully unaware of the health calamities that await them as they grow older. This is known as infantile obesity and has a huge impact on adult life as well.

The World Health Organization warns us that children with excess body weight have a higher probability of becoming obese adults and developing various health issues. It has estimated 160 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years to be obese, and around 390 million to be overweight, globally.

A study from United Kingdom published in the European Heart Journal in July this year has tracked the health parameters of over 2000 individuals born in the year 1946 up to the age of 64 years. The authors found that individuals who were obese at the age of 20 continued to remain obese in adulthood and this had adverse effects on the structure and function of their hearts. They also observed that when individuals who were obese in their younger life chose to reduce weight by means of exercise and diet, they had a lesser incidence of heart disease in later years.

Is it only the heart that gets affected in longstanding obesity? Almost all the diseases that are rampant today, like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol abnormalities, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, liver dysfunction, kidney ailments, chronic lung diseases, joint disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, fertility problems and even several cancers and psychosocial illnesses have obesity as the common underlying thread.

As a physiotherapist focused on the role of healthy lifestyle in heart-health and overall well-being, I would like to share some simple tips to ensure healthy body weight in our youngsters.

Parenting and home culture

Active parents raise active children! Positive reinforcement of physical activity, healthy eating habits at home, creating a consistent sleep pattern, refraining from over usage of gadgets, and providing opportunities for children to explore outdoor activities are some ways to build healthy youngsters.

School environment

Educating students about healthy lifestyles, promoting food choices with nutritional benefits in school cafeterias, encouraging physical activity during leisure time and physical education classes covering team activities and emotional bonding are crucial to inculcating lifelong healthy habits. Parents could assist in this mission by providing appealing and nutritional snack packs.

Food habits

Eating home-cooked meals with the family and avoiding eating out often are ever so important in this app-based, eat-all and eat-whenever era. Homemade fruit juices, milkshakes, lassi and soups, a wide variety of salads and hot traditional dishes are so much more healthier than anything purchased off the supermarket shelf!

Promoting physical activity

Engaging children in fun activities, outdoor games or team sports is very important. Parents and children can together enjoy gardening, playing with pets, performing household chores and taking regular walks or jogs. This not only helps in inter-generational bonding but also avoids many destructive behaviors that teenagers might engage in.

In conclusion, ignoring healthy choices at a young age can have devastating effects in later years of life. So, it is never too early. Start incorporating these lifestyle changes in your children and prioritise their health. In keeping with the mission of World Heart Day which falls on September 29 every year, Cardiac Wellness Institute is glad to spread awareness about healthy lifestyle in children and adolescents to achieve the goal of healthy adults with strong and healthy hearts.

Work From Home has become the new norm since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several pros and cons to this way of working but the most noticeable negative aspect is the blurring of boundaries between our professional life and personal life and the associated lack of adequate time for ourselves.

We tend to sit for long hours in front of our gadgets taking calls and attending meetings. We fail to pay attention to our physical activity requirements on a day-to-day basis. We neglect the warning signs like aches and sores until they become a real issue. We even ignore the fact that we are gaining weight and getting out of shape. We need to take remedial action now to ensure that Work From Home doesn’t pose a threat to our heart health and to our overall well-being. This post will focus on some exercises that can easily be done while working from home!

Perform active movements or stretching of both upper and lower limbs at least for 5 to 10 minutes every hour
Avoid prolonged sitting for more than 2-3 hours at a stretch by getting up from that place, taking a brisk walk or climbing 2 to 3 flights of stairs for 10 minutes

The illustrated exercises are a combination of active movements and stretches focusing on the major joints. They are:

The Chin tucks and Head movements will help prevent neck pain which is often a result of prolonged sitting with the head in a particular position – 10 to 15 repetitions each
The stretches focus on relieving tension in the major joints of the upper limbs, chest and back and to avoid muscle cramps and stiffness – hold each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds
The lower limb exercises namely alternate leg lifts and ankle movements will help avoid stiffness, improve blood circulation, and especially to keep the calf muscles active as they are the peripheral heart in our body – 10 to 15 repetitions each

Pay attention to your work posture

Maintain correct posture while working on your devices to avoid back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries. Keeping a straight back and neck with your device at a proper height is important. As this may be a challenge at home as you may be working on your dining tables or sofas, try to sit straight and prop a pillow on your lap if you need to.

Performing the above exercises helps in:

Preventing joint pains and muscle soreness
Improving your mood
Increasing your working ability
Preventing chronic health issues

The current lifestyle change of working from home has given us an opportunity to get work done in spite of the ongoing pandemic. But we have to realize that it’s a double-edged sword that needs to be handled tactfully. A healthy home-cooked balanced diet, adequate exercise in between work commitments and sufficient sleep and relaxation are easier to achieve now than they were ever before but it’s completely in our hands whether we make use of them or ignore them until our health deteriorates. Let us take a pledge to keep ourselves healthy and spread positivity to others too!!