Sunday, March 2, 2014

"7 myths about phyical activiy"


                The reading that I found the most interesting this week was the “7 Myths About Physical Activity”. Everyone always is coming up with new theories of ways to workout. I always hear people saying that they read or heard that a certain thing to do is better than the other, but it is usually wrong or right to a certain extent. Myth 3 and 4 were the two myths that stuck out to me the most out of the 7. Myth 3 is the myth that because someone is overweight they are unhealthy and if someone is slim they are healthy. This stood out to me because my boyfriend is technically “overweight” for his height and age, but it is because he is muscular. His muscle mass is on the bigger size, which is why he is considered overweight, but he is one of the healthiest people I know. On the other hand, my sister is the skinniest person I know, but she is very unhealthy. She eats very fatty foods and she does not work out, she just must have an amazing metabolism. Just because my sister is slim does not make her healthy. Myth 4 stood out to me too because a lot of parents assume that their kids are getting enough exercise from their P.E. classes. I took a kinesiology class last semester and we learned that schools provide less than the recommended activity time than they should. Because of this, kids are supposed to receive exercise out of school to make sure they are staying healthy. I thought that reading all of these myths were interesting and I could relate to a lot of them.

2 comments:

  1. I really like what you had to say about the seven myths because similarly I found myself under informed on the subject. I had always assumed that slimmer people were healthier. Stupidly, because I see examples of the myth exposed in my own life! An unnamed relative of mine is the slimmest person I know. She however has the worst health habits. She has not eaten a vegetable in who knows when, never worked out a day in her life, drinks nothing but soda and yet has been thin her entire life. She looks great but her health is poor. She has frequent headaches and fatigue, has a higher frequency of illness, and has less energy. On the other hand, another unnamed relative is on the bigger side, yet runs three miles a day, eats fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, and has more energy and less sick days. Its amazing how much our society relies on appearances to judge health. Its sad that our society puts so much emphasis on losing weight and being skinny when in fact that most often leads to unhealthy habits. Diet fads like Atkins and juice cleanses put an emphasis on losing weight but are not necessarily beneficial to health and well being. I was also under the impression that benefits occur after one work out. I also never considered that small simple acts like walking instead of taking the bus can have benefits on a daily basis; it was always if you aren’t at the gym don’t bother. I have also been discouraged by the idea that it takes a long time to see results; I find it awesome that one aerobic session can improve all those factors. Its not just about losing weight, its about being healthy and feeling healthy.

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  2. I also found the "7 Myths about Physical Activity" the most interesting and telling reading of the week primarily because of the countless misconceptions and fads that surround exercising and the extreme measures people take to try and reach cultures present conception of health. Like you acknowledged in your response, myth number 3 is really an interesting misconception because people in modern society base so much on what they consider to be healthy on appearance and stereotype, when really the things that have true determination on ones health such as heart health and other bodily function could never be understood just at a glance. So much has of this has come from the cultural expectation of what is a healthy or a beautiful way to look as a person. If someone was to look at what was considered attractive and healthy in a person body weight wise half a century ago compared to what is considered an optimal body appearance now the vast drop in weight and body fat is apparent, and it results in seriously unhealthy human conditions. The expectation of extreme skinniness that modern culture seems to have adopted as the pinnacle of health is one that is almost impossible to reach naturally, and leads to extreme dieting and exercise by some that ends up breaking down their body and leading to unforeseen health issues. Walking on the street and seeing a slender or slim person, it is a natural reaction that has been taught to us to think that person has a perfect bill of health based on their body weight, when in fact there can be a whole litany of health issues hidden from the eye. An extremely slim person could similarly be extremely malnourished, or could be ill to the point of drastic weight loss, and so on. Society has reached a point where looks and appearance are considered the benchmark for overall health due to the extremity of our cultures expectation for beauty or proper ways to look. This causes people to overlook serious health issues that could be present but may only be apparent to those inflicted by them.

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