Are We Making Things Too Complicated?
Over the weekend I attended the Can Fit Pro 2019 Conference in Toronto. Here are a few of the takeaways:
- Over 70% of our population is considered overweight or obese
- 19% of the population has a gym membership
- The average person consumes about 66lbs of added sugar per year
- Sugar sweetened beverages are the main culprit when it comes to added sugar consumption, making up 47% of sugar intake. Next is sweets and snacks at 31% of sugar intake.
- People who consume 2 or more sugar sweetened beverages per day have a 31% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and each additional sugar sweetened beverage increased risk another 10%
None of these statistics is really that surprising. We all know that as a population our health is declining and just by looking at this data we can attribute it to not being active enough and consuming too much sugar.
Look at how much of an impact just switching out sugar sweetened beverages for water can have on your health. For the average person that would cut sugar consumption in half!
Another observation I had while walking around the expo was that it seemed to me like everything new coming out in fitness is mostly made towards the already fit. For someone who was new to fitness, most of these gadgets are completely intimidating. It was intimidating for me and I have been around fitness my whole life! Maybe 80% of the population doesn’t exercise regularly because we have scared them off making health and fitness seem complicated with all of these machines, gadgets and electronics.
Let’s keep it simple.
- Get your heart rate up with some movement daily. Go for a walk, bike ride or some chores around the house. Make it a goal to move more then you sit.
- Eat well. Eat real food that is not processed as much as possible and keep portion sizes in check.
- Lift heavy weights 2 or 3 days a week.
Do those 3 things consistently and you have all the tools you need to be healthy.
No need to make it complicated!
