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Everyone takes it for granted that we enjoy exercising when
we are young and then gradually begin to lead more sedentary lives as we age.
This is not strictly true. If someone is active throughout their life, the only
thing that can get in the way of continued activity in old age is an accident.
Likewise, if a younger person dislikes exercise in the bloom
of youth then they are hardly likely to start a regular
exercise routine in their golden years. What causes this discrepancy?
The Great Mood
Elevator
It is a proven scientific fact that exercise is a great way
to alleviate depression. Many doctors and psychologists have concluded that it
can work in the opposite direction as well. Why not use antidepressants to
inspire an urge in someone to exercise?
Exercising is a necessary component of good health. A
balanced diet and good frame of mind are the other pillars of longevity and
happiness. There are countless stories from people who have suffered from
weight fluctuations as to how the vicious cycle started:
They encountered incidents in their life that made them sad.
They began to eat to compensate for the black moods. The more they ate, the
less they exercised. The less they exercised, they more weight they gained, the
more weight they gained, the sadder they became, etc.
It is Not Laziness
Why it is difficult for someone with depression to be
motivated enough to work out is sometimes hard to fathom. In cases of diagnosed
depression, many reasons for inactivity have been found.
· Low dopamine levels can be
the cause. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the body that is responsible for
mood elevation and excitement. When the body has low dopamine levels the
sufferer can feel tired all the time. Things are not helped if the person is
told they are being lazy.
· One of the symptoms of
depression is leaden paralysis. This is when the limbs feel weighted down and
hard to move. It is way beyond mild feelings of fatigue.
· Social anxieties can
inhibit someone who suffers from this form of psychological symptom from
wanting to go outside. Because walking and running errands are two of the best
ways to participate in exercising, not having them as an outlet can lead to
minimal exercise options.
· Motivation is one of the
key areas affected by depression. Without the motivation to get out of bed or
off the couch anyone
would struggle to stick to an exercise routine.
· Depression can cause
feelings of isolation and helplessness. These emotions are not conducive to
bouncing out of bed in the morning for a jog around the park.
· Negativity is the default
setting in the mind of someone who is depressed. If the thought of exercise
crosses the mind at all, it will be rapidly shot down by other thoughts of
self-sabotage.
Happiness Equals
Health
It is not simplifying the complexities of depression to say
that happy people exercise and unhappy ones don’t. What defines the parameters
of unhappiness, however, can be difficult and is best left to professional
psychiatrists.
Weight gain can be caused by other underlying factors besides depression. Thyroid problems, glandular problems, and menopause or post-pregnancy are notorious reasons for putting on the pounds. Once the cause of the weight increase has been diagnosed, a physician can set about treating the patient with medication to resolve it.
In some countries, it is illegal to be overweight. In a bid
to keep healthcare costs from ballooning countries such as Japan have begun
measuring the waists of anyone between the ages of 40 and 74. The established
guidelines have been set at 33.5 inches (86 cm) for men and 35.4 inches (90 cm)
for women.
The ones who fail the stipulated waist measurements are
given dieting guidelines for three months. If they still have not reached their
goal waist size after 3 months they are sent for a check-up to establish the
reason.
If the reason for the failure is simply that they are not
dieting and exercising then an ominous sounding re-education program is
implemented. If the person still has not reduced their waist size after being
re-educated, their workplace is penalized.
As close as this comes to being categorized as public
shaming, Japan has a famously long-lived population that refutes any claims
that it doesn’t care about its people. The only darkness that statistics in
Japan display is the high suicide rates.
The most edifying aspect of the legal Japanese waist size
requirements is actually in plain sight. Since enforced dieting was started in
2008, Japan’s suicide statistics have been declining steadily every year; from
25.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008 to 16.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017.
If
that isn’t proof that exercise makes you happy, then it is at least enough
to make you smile.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/622249/japan-suicide-number-per-100-000-inhabitants/
