Ethical Issue Essay #3: Exercise...is the concept working?

The Less We Move, The Worse We Get

Looking back on my childhood, I always remember playing the hardest I could everyday. And, most of that time was spent outdoors, as I let my imagination lead the way. Lately, I have been noticing the childhood obesity epidemic within the city limits of Prescott, Arizona and I am shocked to see the large amounts of children who are overweight. When I was a child, I hardly ever remember the children around me being overweight, but today, it seems to be the norm. And, it is not just children who are being affected by the epidemic, but everyone is. What is happening to our lifestyles that are causing such a negative change in our bodies? Not only is the lack of proper diet a main culprit, but the importance of exercise has also taken a nosedive in our life choices. And, it is due to the lack of movement that the American population, amongst many others, has created such an issue of poor health. So, if we know that exercise is so vital, why isn’t the concept working? There are several viewpoints that provide the answers to such an uprising issue.

One viewpoint, given by James Hill, Holly Wyatt, and John Peters, provides an answer to the exercise issue by modifying the environment to reverse obesity. Due to the changes that the American population has made such as, the industrial revolution and the age of technology, our environment has been modified to the easiest extent. And, it has created the unintentional factors of weight gain. In the past, most eating behaviors and physical activity habits were performed from homegrown foods and physical labor. Today, our environment provides plentiful, inexpensive, high-energy food that is expended in sedentary pursuits. Not only has our poor lifestyle choices been provided by the booming industrial and technological movements, but also from the built, commercial, policy, and social/cultural environments. For example, our built environment is now filled with drive-thru windows that limit our physical activity levels. The commercial environment is now a big business of marketing foods, which are not recommended to be eaten frequently, and are especially aimed at young children by using cartoon and movie characters to advertise these foods. The policy environment has affected food intake by super sized, extra value meals that are loaded with sugar and fat. And the policies for physical activity are highly dependant on transportation, rather than using bikes or walking. And lastly, the social/cultural environment has provided deep-rooted belief that our society has to have a growing economy, by ways of buying many materials at the lowest prices and at this moment, not later. This belief makes it difficult for people to invest their future by making lifestyle changes in the present that will only provide results much later on. The plan to modify the environment to reverse obesity can occur by gradual changes in these environmental aspects. For example, our built environment should provide more sidewalks and bike paths than the typical urban sprawl. The commercial environment should provide more advertisement for nutrition and physical activity improvement by creative solutions like, cartoon and movie characters help promote healthy foods and automobile companies promote physical fitness by providing passes to state parks when a car is purchased. The policy environment should include physical activity at schools and in the workplace. And, the social/cultural environment should provide positive lifestyle choices like, healthy eating and physical fitness, by making them the norm so people will to conform to it and actually act upon it. There is also another viewpoint that provides answers to the issue of exercise.

A second stance, given by Georgia State University, provides answers to the exercise issue by physical activity. According to the viewpoint, more than 60% of United States adults do not participate in the recommended amount of activity. And, 25% of U.S. adults do not engage in any activity at all! In order to solve this dilemma, guidelines are given to help get into a groove of exercise that will not be strenuous and will be enjoyed. For example, they recommend incorporating physical activity through simple actions such as, walking stairs instead of taking the elevator, gardening, raking leaves, dancing, carrying a grocery basket rather than pushing a cart, playing with one’s kids, and parking in the farthest parking spot and walking to one’s destination. It also states that physical activity can also be achieved through a planned exercise routine or recreation with friends or family members. Furthermore, a physical activity pyramid has been created to help guide exercise into an individual’s life. All in all, physical activity should not be viewed as a chore, but as an adventure. Anyone who just decides to get up and start moving, no matter what is may entail, can improve overall health and have fun doing it. Although these two viewpoints both support the importance of exercise, there are some differences.

The first viewpoint provides a stance on improving all aspects of our environment to reverse the obesity epidemic. It uses hopeful techniques for the future by improving the built, commercial, policy, and social/cultural environments. It gives the entire population a chance to change for the better by stepping out of the developed negative paradigms of food and physical activity. Whereas, the second standpoint provides guidelines for incorporating physical activity into different lifestyles. It uses simplified tasks such as, walking stairs instead of using the elevator or gardening, as means to improve health. It gives individuals a chance to make better activity choices by easy to follow guidelines. While the first viewpoint provides countrywide solutions in reversing a particular epidemic, the second one gives individual solutions in well-being.

Looking back at my childhood, I was always active. And, I make sure that I am always participating in physical activity, because it feels good mentally, physically, and spiritually. Today, the childhood and adult obesity epidemic is becoming the norm, because of the lack of physical activity and poor food choices. But, everyone knows that exercise is so important to achieve optimal, lifelong health. Why is it not working? According to one perspective, the only way we can improve the obesity epidemic, is to improve all aspects of our environment such as, more sidewalks, healthy food and fitness advertisement, physical activity in schools and the workplace, and creating new norms of healthy lifestyles that people can easily conform to. Another viewpoint provides simple instructions to merely just get up and move such as, playing with one’s kids or carrying a grocery basket instead of pushing a cart while grocery shopping. And, it also supplies a physical activity pyramid for a daily guide. I love being active, but I do not look at exercise as another task I have to accomplish. Instead, I look at it as a benefit for my mental, physical, and spiritual state and that outlook gives exercise a source of entertainment for myself. In turn, I feel that individuals have to make the conscious choice to wanting to improve themselves through physical fitness that will push them to the edge, but will be fun as well. In the future, I believe that the issue of exercise will catch on in such a way that everyone will want to be a part of it. But, I think that can only happen if we are willing to let go of some of the luxuries to experience our “true” selves again.

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