EDITORIAL: The trouble with our affluence

Paul Taggart
The improvements in our society as a consequence of our current relatively high level of affluence are wonderful. For example, we can eat what we like and have little trouble buying consumer goods, including televisions and cars.
However, with the pluses come a few minuses too. One of the most obvious is a greater prevalence of obesity. Going from office to car to couch in front of the television doesn't burn off the calories a brisk walk home once did. It is an issue that most people have been aware of for years, but attempting to change the situation, and break bad habits, is not easy.
Therefore, the efforts of the National Heart Foundation, Sport Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay District Health Board to kickstart exercise regimes for Bay residents is excellent.
Regular workouts not only benefit our hearts, but help with numerous ailments and conditions, from asthma to depression. One of the stumbling blocks for many seeking to turn their lives around is a fear of gyms, which they expect to find peopled only by the buffed and the pert. This is not necessarily the case, and a series of regimes for every type of physical specimen are available at many gyms. However, for those who do not want the discipline, or expense, of joining a class, there are simple alternatives. Swimming, cycling, jogging, walking, even climbing the stairs rather than taking the lift are all ways of doing a little more exercise.
The target should be to do 30 minutes of moderately vigorous physical activity a day, not necessarily all in one session.
It sounds simple, and there will be a good number of Bay residents who dust off their bikes, chase the spiders out of their running shoes or moths out of their swimming togs after having been fired by the desire to turn over a new leaf thanks to the publicity surrounding the Push Play initiative.
The test, however, will be how many of them are still exercising on a regular basis six months down the track. Even with dedicated gym-goers there is a relatively high attrition rate.
We are compelled to wear safety belts while we are driving in a bid to reduce the risks we face every day. So surely it is only reasonable that we make an effort ourselves in one area where we cannot be compelled by law to look after our own bodies - keeping fit. All it requires is a little willpower.