Once again, we hear from the media we are an obese and physically lazy nation. Nothing new. It has become practically a yearly tradition. It is an open secret the government is striving and will be striving even more over the next two years to counteract this shameful reality. However, the onus must not only rest with the governmental entities. In fact, I hope governmental resources are not spent on publicity grabbing but realistically impractical, one-off exercise, dietary and what-have-you-not campaigns.
The key is education, education and more education. By this I do not mean solely the education of children and their parents but, even more so, the authorities and officials who really have a say in the issue. The classic example is the allocation of physical education school classes for our children. One word describes the prevailing situation in the country: pathetic.
This issue has been brought up so often I have reached the point that, when it is mentioned in seminars or wherever, I just switch off or walk out.
The naked truth is the powers that be moan and whinge about it but, at the end of the day, they come up with very little constructive action.
We also hear innumerable medical experts stress the importance of exercise for the well-being of us all. All well and good, yet, sometimes, I shudder at the ignorance of some colleagues of mine when it comes to exercise prescription, that is, using exercise as an adjunct in the management or prevention of disease. They know the importance, they know they must stress it but, alas, they just do not have the basic knowledge of the subject in order to impart judicious, relevant and effective exercise advice. Telling somebody they need to walk more, go to the gym and so on is just not enough. They have to be told how, when, how much and how often and all of this taking into account the individual’s health status.
How often do we see people walking, jogging or cycling on the road and who are hardly visible due to the poor choice of clothes or else are wearing inappropriate shoes?
Others go for their exercise session planning to hopefully burn 300 calories and then consume an energy or sports drink that supplies them with more calories then what they think they burnt. But it’s a sports drink, right? So it must work, right?
Well, sorry to burst the bubble but no. Sports and energy drinks do have their uses but these are very specific.
However, the massive marketing campaigns involving these and similar products have misled the public into thinking their use is omnipotent.
At the end, it all boils down to education, more so of the educators. Educators in this context is taken to mean all individuals that, through their positive actions, can influence the public. So, in this broad definition one can include practically any official or professional who has a listening audience, be it a government minister, a priest, a teacher, a doctor or a parent.
The best way is leading by example as President George Abela, Health Minister Joseph Cassar and Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat have shown us with their regular exercise regimen. Even Queen Elizabeth II in her end-of-year address emphasised the importance of sport, stressing not only the health benefits but also more the social dimension.
kmicallefstafrace@gmail.com
Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace is a sports and exercise medicine consultant and a senior lecturer in sports science.