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Elliot Seelig

Professor Dean Leonard

English Composition 1201 1V3

2 May 2021

Research Essay

With the work occupying the population of workers becoming more technical than

physical, does the inactive lifestyle of people have an effect on the health of those involved in the

sedentary lifestyle brought by the new workload? This paper will be addressing the effects a

quick changing lifestyle had on the health of people around the country, and if these effects are

actually detrimental to the health and wellness of those in the workforce. It will also be

addressing the ways the effects of the changing lifestyle can be lessened, or even completely

removed, including things like physical therapy and regular exercise. This paper will also go

over the changing lifestyle of the youth, since their lifestyle changes are affected by the changing

lifestyles of their parents and peers. This will go over the information to benefit a change in the

lifestyles of teens and adolescents with things like regular exercise and proper nutrition. With

rates of obesity and diabetes increasing with the indolent lifestyle people choose nowadays and

injuries hindering the performance of athletes and everyday people, knowing the importance of

health, exercise, and treatments like physical therapy is becoming something that is very

important in preparing for the population getting older and getting lazier.

Most people are able to see the positive side of physical therapy and regular exercise but

there are some cons to these things that some people will tend to point out. These cons are

especially prevalent towards exercise, but there are still some towards physical therapy. Some

cons that are aimed towards physical therapy are the cost without insurance and possible wrong
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diagnostics. Even though most physical therapists are extremely reliable there is the rare case

that people could be given wrong treatments and exercises that can end up worsening their

problems. With those who suffer from injuries or need physical therapy for any reason and do

not have insurance, it can be quite hard to come up with the money to pay for all the

appointments needed for physical therapy since it is normally not just a one time thing. When it

comes to physical exercise many people seem to find multiple problems that can occur with

exercise. One of those problems is injury, when exercise is done excessively, it can often lead to

injuries which can lead to future complications with physical health. These injuries can also lead

to depression, fatigue, and a decline in physical performance. Exercise can also bring a negative

view of oneself onto themselves. When people who spend their lives exercises see someone who

is outperforming them it can lead to a decline in self confidence which can lead to a decline in

mental health as well. Also for those who are busy, finding the time to exercise regularly can be

quite draining and sometimes seem impossible. Trying to cram exercise into your schedule could

possibly be more stressful and harming to someone then the fact they do not exercise regularly.

In the past decades, the working class had more physically demanding jobs which

allowed for them to stay in shape, even with the long working hours and not much free time to

look out for one's physical health. But with recent changes in the workforce, making more jobs

involve things like sitting at a computer for 8-10 hours a day, or doing things with machines

instead of moving things by hand, which in favor is more efficient for work but leads to a lack in

physical activity for those who do those jobs. Research done by the CDC shows that people with

higher educations are less likely to suffer from adulthood obesity, which shows that the working

class in America are put to work for half of their day and then after do not the time or the energy

to take care of themselves so they continue to go home and eat poorly and participate in no
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physical activity. Results found by the CDC have shown that men within the higher and lower

class have lower obesity rates than those who are in the middle class, and women within the

higher class have lower rates of obesity than those in the middle and lower class. This shows that

those who are making high income, have both the time and resources to maintain their health,

whether that be by having access to proper equipment for exercise and also the funds to have

proper nutrition, since the cheapest and quickest food, is fast food. Fast food reaches towards

those who have little time and little money for food. That group that is targeted is the lower-

middle working class, which can be a major benefactor to the increased rates of obesity in these

groups among men and women.

With the type of work occupying the working class changing over the years, the rate of

obesity has also changed, and not in a good way. With obesity becoming a bigger problem, the

risk factors of obesity become more and more worrisome among the american population. Risk

factors of obesity come as different conditions that can grow in a person who suffers from

obesity like, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, types of cancer, and can possibly lead to premature

death. Rapidly rising rates of obesity among adults and children is extremely alarming towards

that state of health in our country and other countries with similar lifestyles to the United States.

Research done by the CDC has shown that the rates of obesity from 2000 to 2018 have increased

from 30.5% to 42.4% for all obesity and from 4.7% to 9.2% for severe obesity. When talking in

percentages, it does not seem to be much, but when you realize how big a number 9.2% of the

population is (roughly 30 million of the United States population) it is a scary fact that so many

cases of obesity are in the severe range.

With the rates of obesity going up, it only makes sense that the conditions that come with

obesity becoming a bigger issue for the people suffering from obesity. With the human body
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originally having the composition to work at its full potential at a certain range of body fat

percentages, which was not a problem maintaining when humans would live off the land and

spend their time exercising without knowing they were exercising, nowadays the lifestyle of

humans has completely thrown off the composition of the human body. As stated by Stanley

Boyd Eaton in his article, “Many men and women, colloquially termed whales, now have body

fat percentages equaling or exceeding that of their oceanic namesakes - even though a blue whale

is 1,000 times larger than an average human.” (Eaton 2). This shows how people have let

themselves go even from a natural standpoint, the natural human should not be at the levels of

obesity that people are at and it is not good for them, even to some degree killing them. Because

of this change in the way human composition is, it is what causes things like diabetes and

obesity. Type 2 diabetes can cause a lack of use of insulin or an insulin resistance which is not

good for the health of humans. Also brought up in the article, the lack of physical activity and the

unhealthy nutrition of many people have resulted in the distortion of the human body

composition. This change has negatively affected humans and the likeness that they will end up

having something like type 2 diabetes or becoming obese. These changes happen on such a small

level even changing things like what people can and can not eat. This shows why people with

type 2 diabetes have to watch how much sugar they eat. With unhealthy eating decisions the

human body tries to change in a way to compensate for the abnormal diet which then leads to

complications in the body by those changes leading to worse things.

When it comes to children and being unhealthy, it used to not be a problem, especially

with kids going outside all day riding bikes, playing sports, and other physical activities that kids

did just as ways to burn off the high amounts of energy kids have. With things like easily

accessible junk food, video games, online school, and lack of interest in outdoor activities, many
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more kids are staying inside and not getting the proper amount of physical activities. On top of

the lack of physical activities, kids normally do not like things like vegetables, so proper

nutrition for young children is something that is hard to get which used to be balanced by the

amount of activity done by kids. Now that bad diet on top of the lack of physical activity has led

to an unhealthy group of youth in the country. Also with things like Covid-19, even the kids and

teens that were active, have now been restricted to being locked down inside their house with

little physical activities they can do. Doing physical activity when you are young can also help to

maintain muscle and joint health when you become older, thus giving it benefits in the present

and the future. It was found by the CDC that physical activity is one of the most impactful

factors on the health of a person. People who average about 150 minutes of physical activity a

week have a 33% lower risk of death from all causes. Also, even if you begin exercising when

you are older, it still gives you the benefits of stronger joints and muscles, and also reduces the

risks of injuries like hip fractures and arthritis. Things like physical activity extremely benefit the

older generation, With older people being more physically active, they are less likely to suffer

from injuries from things like falling. They are also a lot less likely to have serious health issues

that relate to old age. This shows how physical activity benefits all age groups, not just those that

can participate in high intensity physical activity.

With things like video games, online work and school, and a new thing, Covid-19, the

lack of physical activity in people’s lives. The CDC states 4 major factors that can be addressed

to help reduce chronic diseases that could be seen as preventable, like poor nutrition, tobacco

use, and heavy alcohol use. Two of these things are addictions and the other two can be fixed

with proper nutrition and regular exercise. With the apparent benefits from physical activity

being the prevention of serious diseases forming, there are also more benefits that are not as
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apparent when thinking of the benefits of physical activity. Some of those benefits are better

sleep, increased ability to do everyday activities, reducing the risk of dementia, and improved

bone health. This can all be very beneficial for kids, teens, and adults, and can help benefit the

quality of life. With things like the increase of obesity going on among children, schools need to

create a better way of keeping children active and keeping them healthy. The CDC has also

given guidance to schools on how to improve the physical activity, giving schools and parents

guidance for recesses, physical activity in the classroom, and participation among teachers and

parents to allow for kids to want to be involved in physical activity. Also with the improvement

of activity during school, the CDC also wants to improve activity in the workplace so that the

people working can stay healthy and not experience future health issues. Especially since the

working class spends a third of their day for 5 to 6 days a week at work, with no physical

activity, it is something that is important for them to fix.

Physical activity and proper nutrition is the best chance for the population to put a stop to

the rising rates of obesity and other diseases related, and possibly start a decrease of poor health

in the country and even the world. Health care professionals even say that a good amount of

health problems could have been avoided with physical activity. As stated by Debra Shirley in

her article, “Primary health care practitioners are ideally positioned to promote physical activity

as a health promotion measure. Many patients in primary care have health problems that could be

prevented by a physically active lifestyle.” (Shirley). When it comes to the encouragement of

physical activity, physical therapists are the main people who are promoting the benefits of

physical activity.

Physical therapy is a very beneficial thing to the health of elderly people, athletes, and

other people who suffer from injuries. For elderly people, joint and chronic pain can be
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something that can hinder them from being able to live their life comfortably. For older people,

chronic pain is something that can completely immobilize someone from living a normal and

comfortable life. Although the causes for chronic pain are not always known, physical therapy

has different therapies and exercises that can help lessen the pain brought by chronic pain. Some

of these treatments can even lead to losing chronic pain permanently. Physical therapy can stop

pain, but if proper exercises for the pain are maintained and continued the pain can stay away

and eventually lead to the pain not returning. Physical therapy can also benefit athletes, in

helping them strengthen weakness in their body to prevent injuries. After suffering injuries, it

can leave an athlete or any other person's body feeling weak or even being more vulnerable to

future injuries. Physical therapists have developed treatments and exercises in order to help

strengthen weakened areas of patients' bodies. Physical therapists will take into consider what is

needed by their patients and make specialized exercises and treatments to suit someone exactly

as needed. Also, physical therapy can help enhance mobility and increase balance.

Physical therapy does benefit both the young and the old, but for older people the

benefits of physical therapy are through the roof. Physical therapy can help to recover from

things such as arthritis and osteoporosis, also physical therapy can be used to recover from

different surgeries. As people age, their likeness of needing surgery for something increases.

Things like hip surgeries and knee surgeries occur a lot in the older generation, for those who

participate more in physical activities are less likely to have lingering pain from their surgeries.

Also things like arthritis can be somewhat prevented by being physically active or going to

physical therapy. Recovery from surgery or injuries can also be cut down through physical

therapy. Physical therapy can also be used as a replacement for addictive pain medications,

which can help those who have had a past in drug addictions who needed surgery. As well as
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different age groups benefiting from physical therapy, but also athletes benefit greatly from

physical therapy. Athletes benefit from physical therapy by finding optimal ways of training,

ways to prevent injuries, and also ways to come back quickly from an injury, “Another reason

athletes can benefit from physical therapy is because it improves circulation and strengthens your

muscles and makes you more flexible which can help improve your game each time you play.”

(movement for life).

Exercise and fitness is such an important factor to living a healthy lifestyle, it should be

something that everyone has implemented into their life whether it be just going for walks every

day, playing a sport, or participating in forms of weightlifting. Harvard Health has many

different standards of the amount of exercise different groups should be meeting, having

different criterias for adults, children, and pregnant women. They only recommend aerobic

exercise for young children and pregnant women, but for adults of all ages, they recommend a

mixture of aerobic exercise and strength training consisting of 150 minutes of light aerobic

exercises and 75 minutes of a more intense exercise. Stated by Harvard Health, “Strength-

training that works all major muscle groups - legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and

arms - at least two days a week.” (Publishing). Harvard says that strength training can consist of

weight training, resistance band work, or body weight exercises. Physical exercise is extremely

important for long term health and can help lead to more comfortable life once age becomes a

factor into your living.

In this time of lockdowns and being stuck at home doing nothing, mental health is such a

big topic to be talked about. Although mental things like therapy and other things can help

mental health, physical activity also can play a major role on your mental health. A study on

Norweigan adolescents found that those with greater muscular strength and healthier body
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composition show lower levels of mental disorders. This showed that people who were involved

in physical activity and had facts to prove they were physically active were less likely to suffer

from serious mental health issues. Also those who were physically active were more likely to be

happy with the way their body looked which led to another decrease in the rate of mental health

issues. As stated by Avitsland in his work, “The same study also showed that boys and girls

categorized as having a fit body composition exhibited 12 to 25% higher body satisfaction,

respectively, compared to other students categorized as having an unfit body composition.”

(Avitsland). Those students who participate in physical activities and gain the benefits from it

seem to be more happy and experience less mental health issues. Also, stated in an article by

Simon Rosenbaum, “In addition to reducing symptoms of mental health disorders, emerging

evidence shows that physical activity is protective against future episodes of poor mental health.”

(Rosenbaum).

Physical activity can also work as a way to help build relationships between groups, can

also be used as forms of therapy, and can be used to prevent and lessen mental disorders. In his

research, Rosenbaum had found that physical activity is very beneficial for preventing and

treating mental disorders. Things like soccer, surfing, and other sports are used for therapy

among children to help them promote good health, empowerment, and give the children good

mentorship. These physical activities nurture the well being of kids, increases social interaction,

and creates a sense of community among adolescents. There are different groups that are made to

do things like this and are making a major impact on children around the world, boosting mental

health and physical health. An example of this given in the article by Rosenbaum, “ClimbAID is

a non-profit, sport-for-development organisation that uses climbing as a mental health and

psychosocial intervention.” (Rosenbaum).

With rates of obesity and diabetes increasing with the indolent lifestyle people choose

nowadays and injuries hindering the performance of athletes and everyday people, knowing the

importance of health, exercise, and treatments like physical therapy is becoming something that

is very important in preparing for the population getting older and getting lazier. The rising rates

of obesity in the world has shown the need for things like proper nutrition and physical activity.

Also the benefits brought by both proper nutrition and physical activity are present both

physically and mentally. The benefits of physical therapy, physical activity, and proper nutrition

should be taken into consideration by the old generation, the new generation, and everyone in

between, since it should be such an important part of life. These aspects can make life better for

everyone and allow for longer and happier lives.

Works Cited

“Adult Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 11 Feb. 2021, www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html.

Åvitsland, Andreas, et al. “The Association between Physical Fitness and Mental Health in

Norwegian Adolescents.” BMC Public Health, vol. 20, no. 1, May 2020, pp. 1–10.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08936-7.

“Benefits of Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Jan. 2021, www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-

health/index.htm.

Eaton, S.Boyd, and Stanley B. Eaton. “Physical Inactivity, Obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes: An

Evolutionary Perspective.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, vol. 88, no. 1,

Jan. 2017, pp. 1–8. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1131013&site=eds-live.

“Lack of Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 25 Sept. 2019,

www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/physical-activity.htm.

Publishing, Harvard Health. Exercise & Fitness.

www.health.harvard.edu/topics/exercise-and-fitness.
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Rosenbaum, Simon, et al. “Physical Activity, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.” Forced

Migration Review, no. 66, Mar. 2021, pp. 34–37. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=149345854&site=eds-live.

Thompson, Jonathan. Disadvantages of Physical Fitness.

exercise.lovetoknow.com/Disadvantage_of_Physical_Fitness.

Top 10 Key Benefits of Physical Therapy.” Top 10 Key Benefits of Physical Therapy |

Movement for Life, www.movementforlife.com/blog/top-5-key-benefits-of-physical-

therapy.php.