Okashira Senryu | Shohei Onishi (Dean of the Graduate School of Health Management)
2007.09.14
The title of this entry suggests I should write a *senryu* poem and discuss it, but I have never written one before. While I have tried my hand at creating slogans, I have absolutely no talent for this sort of thing. So, although it may not be very amusing, I would like to share some serious information with you all. Please bear with me.
This August, the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine held a joint committee and, for the first time in 12 years, announced exercise guidelines for daily life to maintain and improve health and prevent disease. The latest data for Japan's exercise guidelines were published last year as the Exercise Guide, and the differences between the two clearly reflect the characteristics of each country.
The new American exercise guidelines are very simple and clear. They recommend 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking (5 km/h), five days a week. Alternatively, one can do 20 minutes of more vigorous aerobic exercise, such as jogging (8 km/h), three days a week. A combination of these is also acceptable. This is the minimum amount of exercise required, and performing it will help maintain and improve health and prevent disease. Furthermore, the more you exercise beyond this amount, the healthier you will become and the more your physical fitness will improve. The harder you work, the greater the rewards. However, you must not overdo it. There is a risk of heart attack or needing the services of an orthopedic surgeon. As the saying goes, "Too much of a good thing is as bad as too little."
Japan's exercise guidelines quantify the amount of exercise. The energy consumed by sitting for one hour is defined as 1 MET, and this is designated as 1 "exercise." The required amount of exercise per week is 23 "exercises," and people are asked to select and combine activities to meet this target. It's quite a technical approach. Furthermore, one example given for completing these 23 "exercises" is to walk 10,000 steps every single day. There are no days off; you walk every day. Even for the sake of health, I believe rest is necessary, which makes me wonder if this is a rule characteristic of workaholic Japanese culture.
(Date of publication: 2007/09/14)