This week Deb helped launch the ‘Don’t get the sits’ 2018 Heart Week (29 April – 6 May) campaign by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Deb is one of three Heart Week ambassadors and joined Lucy Turnbull and Tim Robards to encourage Australians to get moving for heart health, and start taking the steps to reduce the risk of heart disease.
“Monday morning members of the Heart Week groups climbed more than 1,000 steps to take in an incredible view of Sydney, which is a great achievement before lunchtime,” said Ms Lucy Turnbull. “The BridgeClimb demonstrates that physical activity doesn’t have to be boring or hard work. The key is to find something that you enjoy doing and make it fun.”
Why? The facts say Australia is an inactive nation
Are you shocked? According to the Heart Foundation’s latest research:
- over half of Australians (52%) are not active enough
- 1 in 10 adults do no physical activity in a typical week
- most two in three Australian adults are overweight or obese
- one in four children are overweight or obese
- 5,000 Australians die per year from physical inactivity
The benefits of getting physical
Like any other muscle your heart needs exercise. Being active for at least 30 minutes every day can:
- reduce the risk of heart disease by 35%
- reduce blood pressure
- help maintain a healthy weight
- reduce blood cholesterol
- prevent and manage diabetes
- prevent or improve symptoms of depression
- boost brain health and the risk of dementia or Alzheimers
- positively impact your mood
Research has revealed more than 80 per cent of people report that physical activity has a positive impact on their mood as they feel happy, energised, satisfied and uplifted after being active!
If only 30 minutes of physical activity a day can reduce your risk of disease and illness, how do you get started?
- You don’t need to spend money to join a gym or organised sports club to be physically active. The key is to find something you enjoy.
- Walking, running, jumping rope, dancing or swimming in the ocean may interest you…and they are all free.
- Maybe you could get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way, run in the park with your kids rather than watching them play, turn up the music and boogie to your housework, take the stairs or walk the escalator.
- Grab your friends and get them moving too. Being active with friends is a great way to enjoy movement and keep yourself motivated.
- You can also get more active at work by taking a lunch break to go for a walk in a nearby park or using one of the many phone apps available to do a quick work out! Check out http://www.smart-break.com/en
For more information visit heartfoundation.org.au/heartweek You can also join in the conversation via #heartweek2018 and #dontgetthesits.
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