Sorry to be a downer, but South Africans are lazy and it’s going to cost us in the long run if we don’t address our inactive lifestyles urgently.
According to the South African National Health and Nutrition survey, two out of every three South Africans are lazy and don’t get enough exercise.
Culture and poverty means a lot of our population doesn’t eat food with enough nutrition. However, it’s the people who work office jobs that are spending on average 17 hours per day being inactive, and they should modify their behaviour.
The SANHANE study takes into account nearly 800 000 South Africans through empirical testing and interviews. Physical health issues like obesity, heart disease, as well as poor mental health can result from laziness.
South Africans are lazy
Digging into the data, the study asserts that, on average, South Africans are inactive for eight hours a night on average while sleeping. As The South African reported earlier this week, commuting to and from work can take anywhere between 30 to 75 minutes per day. That’s hours gone from your life every month. Not to mention additional travel time for other activities like shopping, school runs, etc …
Then, on the work front, 90% of employed South Africans spend at least five hours a day at their desks. While 65% of office employees spend seven hours or more sedentary at work. Furthermore, this is compounded by two and a half hours (on average) of TV/screen time on the couch before going to bed, warns SANHANE.
Exercise for 20 minutes per day
When residents are inactive for 18 out of 24 hours, you can see why South Africans are lazy. To fix this, it’s said you should partake in a recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. That’s only 20 minutes per day of moderate aerobic exercise. And the vast majority of South Africans are unable to meet even this guideline.
As simple as it sounds, if you’re office bound a lot of the day, ensure you move around as much as possible to attain your 20 minutes per day. Research shows taking regular activity breaks boosts happiness, alertness and productivity, too. Beyond that, try engaging in at least 30 minutes of light aerobic (walking/running) or anaerobic (gym/weight training) each day. Do so and you’ll soon be on the right side of your long-term health.
