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Physical activity: more focus needed for our rural communities
18 Feb 2014
According to a report published in the February issue of the Australian Journal of Rural Health, rural residents face significant barriers to achieving the recommended health guidelines of at least 30 minutes moderate physical activity five days a week. Some reported barriers include:
- accessibility and availability of places to be physically active,
- extreme weather,
- traffic,
- fear of unattended dogs.
The message that physical activity is important for good health is a particularly important one for rural Australians because, overall, they have higher levels of mortality, disease and health risk factors than their city counterparts. Rural Australians are also more likely to be overweight or obese and to report an inactive lifestyle.
The study, conducted in the Riverland region of South Australia, found that 47% of participants met accepted targets for physical activity, while 31% did some activity but did not meet accepted targets and a further 22% were inactive.
The Federal Department of Health provides physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines; for adults the guidelines are as follows:
Physical Activity Guidelines
- Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
- Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
- Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
- Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.
Source: www.health.gov.au
Whether it is subsidised exercise machines in the home , organised aerobics or dance classes in the local hall or any number of other initiatives, there is certainly a need for encouragement and assistance to get rural communities moving.
For readers, check out the array of factsheets on the National Rural Health Alliance website as well as the physical activity guidelines on the Department of Health website.
