My colleagues just finished a collaborative fitness challenge. He joins an event in his health apps. He was so happy when he starts taking the challenges, it was a great decision he said. it was a revelation. The challenges motivate him immensely. It drastically changes his behaviour and awareness of health and fitness.
It is a good sign. It shows that there is an increasingly popular fitness culture around us. Everyone seems to be attracted to fitness activity. They overwhelmingly stream their Instagram feeds with the gym, cycling club, Zumba class, even belly dance and cha-cha class. Some for the shake of a healthy life, others are simply to meet the demand for social media content. Nevertheless, it is good for everyone. It promotes healthy lifestyle urgently needed in society.
This morning I came across a very interesting article. Written by Kaki Okomura, a Japanese author live in the US. It tells us the fact about Japanese fitness culture.
Contrary to the common belief, the Japanese people are rarely working out. The culture of exercise is just hardly existing in the community, relative to the other high-income countries. A survey from Rakuten finds that, out of 1.000 respondent, more than half of them are barely exercised. They claim to have exercised only once a month or not at all.
Nevertheless, the Japanese stay among the healthiest population in the world. They have one of the longest life expectancies in the world. They also have very low rates of obesity, at least among the high-income countries.
It turns out that, the secret of their great fitness, most likely, is their habit of walking. Japanese are keen to walk or cycling. They have an excellent network of the transportation system, that makes the Japanese people rarely using cars or motorcycle. They rely on public transport and their feet as the main transportation mode.
According to Okomura, Japanese adult walks 6.500 steps a day, on average. Male adults in their 20s to 50s walking nearly 8.000 steps a day, while the female in the same age walking about 7.000 steps.
So, it is clear to me. In my quest of a long and happy life, the first thing to do is to sit on my couch, searching for a comfortable sneaker with reasonable price and then, after few pondering, start walking.
Okomura, Kaki. 2020. “How Japanese People Stay Fit for Life, Without Ever Visiting a Gym”.
Satoria 