Here is an article from Friday, Jan.26 (Health Day News):
A new study offers another compelling reason to get up off the sofa and exercise.
Even though physical activity plays an important role in controlling the disease, fewer than 40 percent of people with type 2 diabetes exercise, says a U.S. study that surveyed more than 22,000 diabetes patients.
The study also found that the diabetes patients most in need of exercise are the least likely to be active, the Associated Press reported. The benefits of physical activity in preventing diabetes are well-documented, but the message does not seem to be getting through, said study lead author Elaine Morrato.
The findings appear in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care. The study results are disappointing, said lead researcher Dr. Elaine Morrato, an expert in public health and epidemiology and assistant professor at the University of Colorado in Denver.
“It is difficult to be optimistic about addressing the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes without success in increasing physical activity in the population,” she and her colleagues concluded. “The results of this study provide very pessimistic data.”
People with type 2 diabetes who don’t exercise face complications such as high blood pressure and nerve damage, the AP reported. The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, five times a week.
I know most medical doctors in Taiwan don’t like to hear this sentence “Doctor, taking care of my health is your responsibility.” I think mostly doctors will say, “I don’t have the ability to keep everyone in good health. Taking care of health is more your responsibility than mine.”
In everyday life I think a lot of people don’t like responsibility. We have all had the experience of working with someone who doesn’t really like their jobs and idles away their working hours. Or when we need to consult with someone and they say, “This is not my job, you have to talk to someone else.”
On the job you may be able to push your responsibility away, but if you want to have good health you can’t. Nobody can push away the responsibility of taking care of his or her health. The above article said exercise is important for controlling diabetes. If you don’t want to do exercise nobody can be your substitute for doing it. And there is no substitute for exercise. What pill or procedure can be called “the exercise substitute”?
I always encourage my students to practice Tai Chi or Chi Kung at home, not just in my studio. And sometimes a student will return to class and tell me I should feel happy because they followed what I said and did some practicing at home. I usually reply that they should feel happy, not me because when they do more practice their Tai Chi gets better, they stay in shape, and they improve their health. They get all the benefits; independent practice isn’t my reward.
Sometimes sitting down, talking and thinking are not as good as getting up and real doing it.
–Danny