1 Warmer Which three of these five methods are, in your opinion, the most effective for keeping fit? Tick them. Why did you choose them? walking for 30 minutes a day cleaning your flat or house with a vacuum cleaner washing the car using the stairs rather than taking the lift going to the supermarket 2 Key words Complete the sentences using these adjectives from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. moderate sedentary high-tech prosperous taxing beneficial premature stressed out brisk aerobic 1. A event happens too soon or before the usual time. (para 2) 2. If you are feeling, you are very tired, worried and unable to relax. (para 3) 3. If a job or a task is, it is difficult and involves a lot of effort. (para 4) 4. If someone is, they are rich. (para 4) 5. If you go for a walk, you walk quickly. (para 7) 6. If something is described as, it is neither very great nor very small in amount, size, strength or degree. (para 8) 7. exercise is a very active type of exercise that makes your heart and lungs stronger. (para 8) 8. medical treatment uses the most modern or advanced technology available. (para 10) 9. A lifestyle involves a lot of sitting and not much exercise. (para 11) 10. If something is, it has a good effect. (para 11) 3 Find the information Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible. 1. How many people were compared in the new global study? 2. How many countries were compared in the study? 3. How much exercise per day do most guidelines recommend? 4. If you sit a lot in your job, how often should you get up for a walk around? 5. If people do 750 minutes of brisk walking per week, by what percentage is their risk of premature death reduced? 6. What percentage of the world s population do not meet the physical activity guidelines?
Get up, stand up: including exercise in everyday life healthier than gym, says study Sarah Boseley 21 September, 2017 1 According to the author of a major new global study, incorporating physical activity into our everyday lives is more likely to protect us from heart disease and an early death than gym membership. 2 The study, published in a UK medical journal, found that one in 20 cases of heart disease and one in 12 premature deaths around the world could be prevented if people were more physically active. It compared 130,000 people in 17 countries, from rich countries like Canada and Sweden to some of the poorest, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. 3 Most guidelines recommend 30 minutes of exercise per day for five days a week. While this reduces heart disease and deaths, one to two hours a day is the ideal amount of physical activity, said lead author Professor Scott Lear. Most people will think they cannot incorporate that much physical activity into their life, he said. They will think I m stressed out and have to make dinner and then do exercise for two hours! he said. 4 But the study showed that those people who have the highest activity levels are those for whom physical activity is part of their everyday working lives. In developing countries, more people still have physically taxing jobs but as they become more prosperous, their activity levels fall. They are going from sweeping the floor to buying a vacuum, said Lear. 5 He does not suggest selling the vacuum cleaner but we could all incorporate more activity into our lives rather than occasionally going to the gym or swimming pool. Sitting for hours is not good for hearts or the physical body, he said. Getting up every 20 to 30 minutes for a walk around is good for you. We spend a lot of time in meetings. If it is just two or three people, why not have a walkaround meeting? 6 He also suggests playing with children in the park rather than sitting watching them, increasing the walk to work by getting off the tube or bus early and taking the stairs rather than the lift. 7 The authors found that the more physically active people were, the lower their risk of heart disease or an early death. Participating at even low physical activity brings benefit and the benefit continues to increase up to high total physical activity, says the study. People who did more than 750 minutes of brisk walking or equivalent activity per week reduced their risk of premature death by 36%. 8 The World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 18 64 years old do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week, as well as muscle strengthening exercises at least two days a week. But it is thought that almost a quarter (23%) of the world s population do not meet these guidelines. 9 The study is the first to compare physical activity and heart disease levels in both rich and poor countries. The clear results show that exercise truly is the best medicine we have for reducing the chances of an early death, said Dr James Rudd, a senior lecturer in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Cambridge. If a drug company came up with a medicine as effective as exercise, they would have a billion-dollar product and would win a Nobel Prize. 10 There is a trend for more heart disease in lower income groups both within and between populations, said John Martin, professor of cardiovascular medicine at University College London. In the UK, it has been shown that lower social class is associated with more heart disease. Walking is easy and cheap. This study should encourage governments to spend less money on high-tech treatment of heart disease and more on promoting simple strategies of prevention like walking. 11 Professor Metin Avkiran of the British Heart Foundation said: In an age where we re living increasingly busy but often sedentary lives in the West, incorporating physical activity into our daily routines has never been more important, not only to improve our physical health but also overall well-being. Increased physical activity could have an even greater beneficial impact in lower income countries, due to its low cost and the high level of heart disease in those countries. Guardian News and Media 2017 First published in The Guardian, 21/09/17
4 Comprehension check Answer the questions according to the text. 1. What is the ideal amount of physical activity per day? 2. What happens when people in developing countries become more prosperous? 3. What does the author of the study recommend if there are only two or three people in a meeting? 4. How can you increase your physical activity if you travel by tube or bus? 5. How often should people do muscle-strengthening exercises? 6. Which example of physical activity is easy and cheap. 5 Find the word Find the following words and phrases in the text. 1. a verb meaning add or include something as part of something else (para 1) 2. a plural noun meaning official instructions or advice about how to do something (para 3) 3. a two-word noun meaning a piece of electrical equipment that cleans floors by sucking up dirt (para 5) 4. an adverb meaning sometimes but not frequently or regularly (para 5) 5. an adjective meaning with the same size, value, importance etc as something else (para 7) 6. a noun meaning the possibility that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen (para 7) 7. a three-word phrasal verb meaning think of something such as an idea or a plan (para 9) 8. a noun meaning the satisfactory state that someone should be in that involves being happy, healthy and safe (para 11) 6 Two-word phrases Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make expressions from the text. 1. physical 2. medical 3. developing 4. heart 5. overall 6. drug a. country b. activity c. well-being d. company e. journal f. disease
7 Words followed by prepositions Complete the phrases using these prepositions. Check your answers in the text. for with of into on from 1. incorporate 2. protect 3. not good 4. a risk 5. associate 6. spend money 8 Discussion Discuss the statements. Eating healthily has a bigger effect on your health than exercise. Exercise is dangerous even very fit people have heart attacks and athletes suffer more injuries than non-athletes.
KEY 2 Key words 1. premature 2. stressed out 3. taxing 4. prosperous 5. brisk 6. moderate 7. aerobic 8. high-tech 9. sedentary 10. beneficial 3 Find the information 1. 130,000 2. 17 3. 30 minutes 4. every 20 to 30 minutes 5. 36% 6. 23% 4 Comprehension check 1. one to two hours 2. their activity levels fall 3. having a walkaround meeting 4. by getting off the tube or bus early 5. at least two days a week 6. walking 5 Find the word 1. incorporate 2. guidelines 3. vacuum cleaner 4. occasionally 5. equivalent 6. risk 7. come up with 8. well-being 6 Two-word phrases 1. b 2. e 3. a 4. f 5. c 6. d 7 Words followed by prepositions 1. into 2. from 3. for 4. of 5. with 6. on