The modern work culture thinks our bodies are a joke. The worst enemies for everyday exercise are our chairs, cars, televisions, computer, elevators, escalators, and our overall busy lives. Has our innate need for comfort selected a sitting society as its undisputed favorite way to live? There are, fortunately, many friends of everyday activity including: bicycles, sidewalks, trails by lakes,...
A growing number of individuals feel it necessary to bridge the gap to a more ecologically friendly lifestyle by embracing natural foods, recycling and using public transportation. Almost everything in our lives can be made more natural or ecologically friendly. Unfortunately, this natural and ecologically friendly way of living is not often connected to that central masterpiece that should be...
“Natural” is the ‘in’ word and current trend. Perhaps the popularity of “natural” stems from a certain form of yearning; yearning for “the old days”, when people lived in harmony with the land and the land was respected and directed our decisions every day. At the same time, this popularity describes our true life. We no longer feel that we are...
The popularity of sitting is not entirely due to how easy it is. The internet, television, and videogames are all available in front of you as soon as you take a seat. Sitting is the gateway to the new digital age - the digital age that has consumed us all. All the knowledge in the world these days can be...
There is little need for muscle activity these days, but there is just as little opportunity for muscle activity. The sitting position is a dominant, wanted, and suggested position to complete just about anything. Can you even think of standing while in a meeting or waiting your turn at the bank? Sitting is so popular because it is easy, there...
Have you ever thought about how things used to be? Only a few decades ago people walked or biked to work and school. Our grandparents did their work with their hands and their feet, not with their "sitting muscles". Children played outside and climbed trees rather than spending their evenings in front of the television or the computer. Coffee was...
In September I moved from Washington State in the USA where I lived for 26 years, to Jyväskylä in order to study. In America I drive a lot, as many do. I drove approximately 250 km a week - the drive to school was 25km, the gym 4km and the grocery store 2km. My hobbies included running and mountain biking,...
While the decrease in daily energy expenditure in our working environments can explain, in part, the obesity epidemic, the other parts of our daily life are not without blame. At work we sit and move primarily just our fingers, so maybe it is a good idea to increase our daily energy expenditure via our daily commute. Unfortunately, during the last 35...
In the 1960s almost half of jobs required moderate physical activity. Nowadays, only 20% of jobs require at least moderate physical activity. It is no surprise that four out of five Finns does their work sitting in front of a screen. These days, making the grade at work is about being smart and less about having endurance, strength and skills. Here...
Work has traditionally been a significant part of our lives and our identity. Professions have been passed on from fathers to sons for generations while both physical labor and handcraft have been valued. At the same time, physical labor has played a significant role in our daily energy expenditure. Think about how men used to work long hours in the...
In the USA over 6 billion dollars a year are spent on diet foods. Close to a billion cans of low calorie “diet sodas” were sold in 2010 alone. In Finland, we are following this trend. Up to half of Finns have stated that they are trying to lose weight, and one fifth of Finns are using some sort of...
The models of the health and wellness business are images of dazzling perfection. Sharp shadows are cast by the light bouncing off of glimmering oiled muscles and the fitness machine’s lofty being justifies its confident and goal-oriented smile. The bronzed statue is covered by tight clothing that does not leave any room to imagine what might be below it. The message of...
Basically, weight gain is the result of an imbalance between energy consumption and energy expenditure. This balance is partly regulated by our genetics, our environment, and psychosocial factors. One, or many of these factors, has gotten members of our society to consume more than we expend, or to expend less than we consume. At the same time we have noticed...
During my university studies, I encountered a question on an exam that asked what elements make up “physical activity”. In part, due to my lack of knowledge, and in part because I was feeling a bit rebellious, I answered indifferently: “Who cares, as long as we participate more in physical activity”. After the exam, I remembered that our textbook stated...
