Malta is motionless

The long-awaited Euro 2012 football extravaganza has long since come to pass. Fortunately for us, however, it has been replaced with perhaps an even longer-awaited and grander sporting spectacle.

Maybe it is the hot sun that snuffs out our fear and stress, or our staunch Christian faith that comforts us, because one thing we Maltese are good at is hanging loose and taking life very much in our own stride- Matthew Muscat Inglott

The London 2012 Olympics promise to enthral and entertain nations around the planet with breathtaking performances from the world’s finest and most highly-trained athletes.

What a treat to behold two such massive sporting events in the same summer, and the Maltese will be following as fervently as any other.

One poignant difference, however, between us and the rest of the developed world is that we don’t often get to enjoy the added bonus of rooting for our own team or athlete in contention for the very top honours.

We must sit back and watch the big boys and girls battle it out long after our own representatives check out early after only the preliminary rounds.

This year, the talented shooter William Chetcuti might just change all that and make history with a first-ever Olympic medal for Malta, but up until now, the only top honours we have managed to garner in the international sports and fitness arenas are, unfortunately, the source of far less honour or pride.

Maltese children have already won the dubious honour of being the most obese in Europe, and now an even worse slap in the face for Maltese wellness befalls us: we are officially the laziest people in Europe.

Ever since the UK newspaper The Telegraph published the findings of a recent international study on physical activity, expressions of outrage have surfaced in local media.

While we momentarily exhibit moderate shock and disbelief, we quickly tend to shrug our shoulders and get on with our lives. Some might even find it amusing.

Maybe it is the hot sun that snuffs out our fear and stress, or our staunch Christian faith that comforts us, because one thing we Maltese are good at is hanging loose and taking life very much in our own stride. Our gusto for life and leisure perhaps obscures some of the very real dangers that lie ahead.

We might be able to laugh off our new championship title in the European inactivity rankings over some chuckles and sips of smooth local beer, lazing about with friends at fashionable seaside cafés on slothful summer nights. But we won’t be laughing when further down the road we are made to foot the bill for spiralling costs of national health care.

Hip replacements, knee replacements, heart surgery and medication all cost taxpayers serious amounts of their hard-earned cash. When one considers that significant health care costs can be easily averted by indulging in structured exercise programmes consisting of just three basic workouts per week, the scale of the waste is simply madness.

In the US, nearly 10 per cent of national health care costs are incurred through easily avoided inactivity-related conditions. We now know that only 41 per cent of Americans are classified as inactive compared with an incredible 72 per cent in Malta; so these are disturbing figures indeed.

Just think how useful those funds could be if channelled back into our own pockets or into more productive national endeavours.

We could keep quoting figures in euros or dollars but, in reality, perhaps the only statistic we really need to consider here is that at least in 2008, physical inactivity was responsible for over five million deaths worldwide and is now considered just as bad for our health as smoking.

You might feel powerless to stem some of life’s other stifling burdens, however becoming more physically active is a simple choice you can make today. So fear not, for there is light at the end of the tunnel if we are fit enough to reach it.

Ever since the original obesity study surfaced several years ago, citing Maltese children as European champions of chubbiness, several initiatives were taken; however, perhaps the most effective of these is the sterling work being done by the Malta Sports Council (KMS) in promoting sports and making a large variety of physical activities highly accessible to children.

Being involved in sports and fitness on a daily basis, I can vouch for the hard work performed by this energetic organisation. These days, it couldn’t be easier for youths to not only get involved in sports, but also to excel both locally and abroad. Sporting opportunities exist now that modern Maltese adults, including myself, could only have dreamed of before.

Short of dragging children off the streets and into the sports halls kicking and screaming, effort and investment are most certainly being made. But how will we respond to this latest challenge?

How will we get every single Maltese national moving, regardless of age, gender or physical ability?

The guideline is simple: moderate exercise for 30 minutes performed five times a week, or vigorous exercise for the same duration performed three times a week.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Will it be fat tax? Will it be council-funded fitness facilities?

An army of government-employed house-visiting personal trainers?

National-scale weight-loss challenges with cash prizes for the winners?

A fitness lottery funded by tax relief on wellness products, where tickets cannot be bought but instead earned through participation in government-run fitness events?

A combination of the above plus many more endless possibilities?

Whatever happens next, let’s not sit around and wait. It’s up to you and me to get our feet moving; it’s high time for a Malta in motion.

info@noble-gym.com