A study in Physician and Sportsmedicine noted a "steady increase in the proportion of US men who report participating in no leisure-time activity between the ages of 29 to 69."(40) What has changed so much in recent years that can affect a population so drastically across the board?.
From children to grandparents, something needs to be done about the surge in obesity, which is also causing more cases of diet-induced diabetes. As it used to be, children would come home from school and go outside to play with neighbors at the park or in the yard. Now a day, children are going to the computer or the video games-sedentary alternatives. However, it is not solely the inactivity, but inactivity in conjunction with habitual (mindless) eating. In one study mentioned in Aven's article stated that "obesity was highest in children who watched four or more hours of television per day these children also tended to consume more calories per day."(42) Most recently discussed on the popular Dr. Phil Show, people tend to associate eating with certain activities such as watching the television, working on the computer, studying, etc., all sedentary activities. The challenge for recreational facilities is to somehow convince people to start lifting weights instead of lifting the remote. .
Tostitos chips ran a commercial a while back where people were lined up behind one "leader" (impersonating an aerobics instructor) as he went through chip-lifting exercises while laying on rafts at the pool. Although humorous, this commercial was the epitome of what is happening to the majority of Americans" impression of exercise. This is where creativity and motivational strategies come into play-how are you going to get on overweight person to the gym, when you can't even get them to take the stairs? .
A personal desire to live a healthy lifestyle is the key element to overcoming laziness. While people all have individual reasons for explaining why they don't workout, many are discouraged because they don't know what changes are needed to meet their individual goals.
