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Perk up, ladies
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It is as important for women to exercise as it is for men
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Women exercise far less than men by the time they hit 30. The demands of raising children, babysitting a husband and juggling a career at the same time, lack of access to convenient facilities and lack of safe environments in which to be active leave little time or inclination for exercise. Women also feel they can do with less exercise than men and the media is partly to blame for this thinking. Women do have a few points in their favour when it comes to health: oestrogen protects their cardiovascular system until menopause and their genetically determined body fat distribution - hips and thighs - as opposed to the abdomen in men, is less likely to cause heart disease and diabetes. But heart disease, hypertension and diabetes are still the biggest killers of post-menopausal women, but they are a man's diseases in the public's mind.
The media overwhelmingly portrays men as being the victims of heart attacks, hypertension, strokes and cancer, and this lulls some women into thinking all they have to worry about are breast cancer and osteoporosis. When the media depicts a heart attack, they always show a middle-aged fat guy clutching his chest. The truth is that studies indicate women may benefit even more than men from regular exercise. Women who exercise every day are less likely to die of heart disease than men who exercise regularly. Women who do not exercise are twice as likely to die of a heart attack as women who exercise regularly.
Women outlive men by a few years and that leads some to the wrong conclusion that women are intrinsically healthier and need less exercise. Women may live longer than men but their lack of physical fitness means they are more likely to lead lives plagued by disabilities. Elderly women who had a sedentary youth experience more disability in their daily life than women who've been active. They are more likely to suffering crippling hip fractures and experience intense osteoporosis. The truth is that women probably need more exercise than men because life puts more stress on them. Pregnancy and menopause demand a high level of physical fitness and nutrition, and preparation for them must start at a young age - teens and youth. But women at any age can benefit from exercise, and do at least 30 minutes of walking every day. If finding 30 minutes of free time is too difficult, aim for smaller chunks of time - like two ten-minute walks a day.
RAJIV M.
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