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. affluent taxing optimal brisk sedentary premature aerobic clear-cut generic stressed out 1. A event happens too soon or before the usual time. 2. An society is one where people have a lot of money. 3. An amount of something is an ideal amount. 4. If you are feeling, you are very tired, worried and unable to relax. 5. If a job or a task is described as, it is difficult and involves a lot of physical or mental effort. 6. If you take a walk, you walk quickly. 7. A product does not have a trademark and is sold without a company s name on it. 8. exercise is a very active type of exercise that makes your heart and lungs stronger. 9. A result is one that is definite and easy to understand. 10. A lifestyle involves a lot of sitting and not much exercise. 3 What do you know? Choose the best answer. Then, check your answers in the text. 1. Most guidelines recommend 30 minutes / 90 minutes exercise per day for five days a week. 2. Almost a quarter / half of the world s population do not meet these physical activity guidelines. 3. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, you should get up every 5 to 10 / 20 to 30 minutes and have a walk around. 4. If you do more than 750 minutes of brisk walking a week, you reduce your risk of premature death by 36% / 72%.
Get up, stand up: including exercise in everyday life healthier than gym, says study Taking the stairs and getting off the bus a stop early are more likely to protect against heart disease and early death than working out, research shows Sarah Boseley 21 September, 2017 1 Incorporating physical activity into our everyday lives, from taking the stairs to holding walkaround meetings in the office, is more likely to protect us from heart disease and an early death than buying a membership to the gym, according to the author of a major new global study. 2 The study, published in the Lancet medical journal, found that one in 20 cases of heart disease and one in 12 premature deaths around the globe could be prevented if people were more physically active. It compared 130,000 people in 17 countries, from affluent countries like Canada and Sweden to some of the least affluent, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. 3 While 30 minutes of exercise per day for five days a week, which most guidelines recommend, reduces heart disease and deaths, one to two hours a day is the optimal amount of physical activity, said lead author Professor Scott Lear, of Simon Fraser University s Faculty of Health Sciences in Vancouver, Canada. 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 it is part of their everyday working lives. In developing countries, more people still have physically taxing jobs but as they become more economically prosperous, their activity levels fall. They are going from sweeping the floor to buying a vacuum, said Lear. 5 He does not advocate selling the vacuum cleaner but we could all incorporate more activity into our lives rather than relying on occasional trips to the gym or swimming pool. It becomes routine as opposed to an endeavour, he said. Sitting for hours is not good for hearts or the physical body. Getting up every 20 to 30 minutes for a walk around is beneficial. I have a kitchen timer. 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 death by 36%. 8 But the study notes that other CVD [cardiovascular disease] interventions such as consuming fruits and vegetables and generic CVD drugs are beyond the reach of many people in low-income and middle-income countries; however, physical activity represents a low-cost approach to CVD prevention. 9 While the amount of physical work people do in low-income countries reduces heart disease, their chances of surviving if they do have a heart attack or stroke are lower because their health services are not as advanced. 10 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 are not meeting physical activity guidelines. 11 The study is the first to compare physical activity and heart disease levels in countries of varying affluence. The clear-cut results reinforce the message that exercise truly is the best medicine at our disposal 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 blockbuster on their hands and a Nobel Prize in the post. 12 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 rebalance health budgets away from high-tech treatment of heart disease to promoting simple strategies of prevention like walking. 13 Professor Metin Avkiran, associate medical director at 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 incidence of heart disease in those countries. Guardian News and Media 2017 First published in The Guardian, 21/09/17 4 Comprehension check Choose the best answer according to the text. 1. According to the study, which people have the highest levels of physical activity? a. people who go to the gym b. people for whom physical activity is part of their everyday working lives c. people who sweep the floor rather than using a vacuum cleaner 2. What specific problem do people in low-income and middle-income countries have? a. They don t have enough time to do 150 minutes of physical activity each week. b. They often can t afford to consume fruit and vegetables and cardiovascular disease drugs c. They lead sedentary lives. 3. Why is this study of physical activity and heart disease different from previous ones? a. It is the first to compare people in so many different countries. b. It is the first to compare such a large number of people in a single study. c. It is the first to compare people in countries with different levels of affluence. 4. What, according to Professor Martin, should governments do on the basis of the study? a. spend less on high-tech treatment of heart disease and encourage prevention b. spend more on high-tech treatment of heart disease c. encourage drug companies to come up with a medicine as effective as exercise
5 6 7 8 Verb + noun collocations Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns or noun phrases in the right-hand column. 1. rebalance 2. have 3. reinforce 4. hold Find the word Find the following words in the text. 1. a verb meaning add or include something as part of something else (para 1) 2. an adjective meaning rich and successful (para 4) 3. a verb meaning publicly support a particular policy or way of doing things (para 5) 4. a noun meaning an effort to do something, especially something new or difficult (para 5) 5. an adjective meaning having a good effect (para 5) 6. a noun meaning a medical condition in which blood is suddenly blocked and cannot reach the brain (para 9) 7. a noun meaning the satisfactory state that someone should be in that involves being happy, healthy and safe (para 13) 8. a noun meaning the number of cases of an illness or medical condition in a particular place, group or situation (para 13) 5. reduce 6. improve Word-building Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence. 1. The World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate- aerobic physical activity a week. [INTENSE] 2. Many people in developing countries still have taxing jobs. [PHYSICAL] 3. The study compared people in countries of affluence. [VARY] 4. People are living busy but sedentary lives in the West. [INCREASE] 5. Governments should promote simple strategies of like walking. [PREVENT] 6. Exercise is the best medicine at our. [DISPOSE] Discussion Discuss the statements. a. your health b. a message c. a budget d. a risk e. a meeting f. an impact Eating healthily has a bigger impact on your health than exercise. Exercise is dangerous even very fit people have heart attacks and athletes suffer more injuries than non-athletes. Exercise is boring.
KEY 2 Key words 1. premature 2. affluent 3. optimal 4. stressed out 5. taxing 6. brisk 7. generic 8. aerobic 9. clear-cut 10. sedentary 3 What do you know? 1. 30 minutes 2. quarter 3. 20 to 30 4. 36% 6 Verb + noun collocations 1. c 2. f 3. b 4. e 5. d 6. a 7 Word-building 1. intensity 2. physically 3. varying 4. increasingly 5. prevention 6. disposal 4 Comprehension check 1. b 2. b 3. c 4. a 5 Find the word 1. incorporate 2. prosperous 3. advocate 4. endeavour 5. beneficial 6. stroke 7. well-being 8. incidence