Kerre Woodham: Exercising is harder for some than others

Hands up all those who felt personally attacked this morning when you heard the stories about New Zealanders and obesity? Not you? Just me then?!  

All morning we've been hearing stats like these: one in three New Zealand adults is carrying enough excess body weight to affect their health. That would be people with a BMI of 30 or above. There's an increase in obesity, with that, an increase in preventable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Half a billion dollars of the health budget is being spent on obesity-related diseases that are preventable, and so on and so forth.  

In Mike's interview this morning he made the point that we all know what we have to do to be fit and healthy, we're just not doing it. Some of you are, but some of us are not. I have absolutely no excuses. None. I finish my shift at midday and although I have to monitor news sites, I can do that with headphones while moving my butt. I can afford a gym membership. I joined way back in antediluvian times when pink and grey G-string leotards were still the go and leg warmers was a thing. And they keep your gym membership pegged to about then, so I think I'm paying about $0.33 a month, a ludicrously low amount of money.  

So even with the cost-of-living crisis, I can still afford a gym membership. The gym is literally across the road from my workplace. Short of Les Mills arranging for six of their finest, most muscular and gleaming trainers to carry me across the road to the gym in a sedan chair, it could not be easier for me to get to a place of focused exercise and training and yet do I do it? No, I don't. No. My excuses are many in legion. Summer is slipping away. The nights are getting darker and cooler, so while summer’s here I want to head to the beach and wallow like a manatee in the waves bobbing and diving and splashing for the pure joy of it. Not grimly swimming lengths in a chlorinated pool for 50 minutes or sweating alongside other desperate individuals in a 7th Circle of Hell that is the RPM room - dark and blacked out and full of sweat and enthusiastic woo hoos!  

And I could walk around the block, and enjoy the Tui, and the kids playing in the parks and all the other lovely sights of summer. But I have deadlines and calls to make and all that sort of thing. So many excuses. And I have all the time in the world, unlike those poor parents who are up at the crack of dawn, working all day, picking up the kids, and collapsing at home at 7pm to gird their loins to do it all again the next day. How on earth do you fit in exercise, even meal prep and healthy eating when that is your daily grind for at least seven or eight years?  

Richard Beddie, the CEO of Exercise New Zealand, was just one of the many voices commenting on the Health New Zealand report on the population’s health. Specifically in his case, was concern about our level of exercise.  

"The worst statistic we have is our physical activity levels, because while obesity and things like smoking and alcohol are relatively common within the Western world, and are generally not getting better with the perhaps exception of smoking, it is actually the physical activity and we are actually one of the worst in the Western world. New Zealand really has a problem with activity, and I think part of it lies from this idea that we think of ourselves as a sporting nation, but actually what sport is about is about watching rather than doing these days."

People say “oh you run though” and I'm like, “no, I ran nine years ago.” I did a marathon, that was a long time ago. And personally, I agree with you. I think I should run a marathon and never have to think about exercise again but that's just not the way it works. We all know what we should be doing. We probably started off like a hiss and a roar in January fired with good intentions, but where are we now?  

We were having a debate about this in the office and the boss was saying it's all about priorities, you know. Well, I don't know. I remember when I wrote a book about marathon running and I'd get these lovely, mainly women, writing to me saying I really need to get back into exercise. I loved it. And then I had the kids, and I've got three kids and I'm working, and I'd love to run a marathon. How did you do it?  

Well, I did it because I didn't have any children to look after. Kate was often away to university. I had absolutely nothing to do and yawning vistas of time. Don't put any pressure on yourself. Just survive was my advice to them. And then when you've got yawning vistas of time, then think about a marathon. I agree we need to move more. And those people who prioritise it make it a focus, even though they've got busy jobs, even though they've got the kids, you know, I admire you, and I'd love to know how you do it. But there is an enormous amount of pressure just existing. Especially right now.  

It shows the value of having somebody at home who can manage the household, who can get the healthy meals ready, who can have them in the freezer ready for those big nights. Having somebody there so that you're not crashing through the door at 7pm exhausted? How on earth do you find it in you to say right, now that we've had our healthy meal that I did on Sunday when I spent all Sunday in the kitchen prepping meals for the week, let's go for a walk around the block as a family.  

If you do more power to you. I'm so impressed. But for many people, it's just putting one foot in front of the other. Is it any wonder that right now it's tough for people to eat well and to fit in daily exercise. I would love to know how Richard Beddie the CEO of Exercise NZ does it. The boss said “well just get off a bus stop one stop earlier.” I know I'm making excuses. I know that. That's what endomorphs do, we find excuses while ectomorphs just forge ahead in their lean, muscular way. We little round endomorphs sit here muttering excuses.  

But it is a lot tougher for some people than others. That's all I'm saying. Not me, I have no excuse. But I do have sympathy for those who are just trying to get by. 

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