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Health


small change, big difference


T


he small change, big difference campaign launched by the Government encourages people to make minor


changes in their lifestyles to give them a better chance of living longer, healthier lives. It is primarily aimed at adults with a message that it is never too late to start. Here Sergeant Mick Barron talks us through the changes each of us can make.


There is clear evidence that people should not be put off making a change, just because they cannot manage the full ‘5 a day‘ fruit and vegetable intake or participate in 30 minutes a day of extra exercise.


Research from the Clinical Gerontology Unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital has identified that day to day activity, can extend a person's life by up to three years. Taking regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do. People who do 30 minutes moderate to vigorous activity 5 days of the week greatly reduce the chance of developing heart disease. In addition, exercise can also: o help improve the balance of HDL (‘good’) and LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol


o sleep better o provide a feeling of well-being o strengthen your bones and muscular systems


Active people can also eat a little more since they burn more calories and have a higher resting metabolic rate.


Building activity into your daily routine can prevent it becoming a chore. By choosing an activity that you enjoy, it can also be one of the most pleasurable ways to look after your health. There are very few medical reasons not to be physically active but it is advisable to check with your doctor before starting an exercise programme.


It is often said that if exercise could be sold in a pill everyone would buy it. But in reality we need to accept responsibility for ourselves. Today’s society is very different from that of our parents and technology has made life more comfortable and convenient. The flip side to this is decreasing levels of activity – while all these technological advances are meant to improve the quality of life and create more leisure time, the irony is most of us are spending more time at work and even taking less holidays!


20 Autumn 2008


So what is on your doorstep that can assist with adopting a more active lifestyle? The first initiative for Serving personnel is the RAF Fitness Strategy. This strategy is focused on making service personnel fit for life, fit for deployment on operations and fit for their daily role at work. Central to this concept is ensuring that all service personnel understand that physical fitness is a core component of daily life, and service, so that all personnel as a matter of course engage in vigorous activity at least 3 periods per week of 50 minutes or more.


Aerobic fitness is considered to be the most important aspect of fitness to reduce the risk of disease and improve health. Regular physical activity also enhances mood, reduces levels of stress and contributes towards a positive body image and improved levels of self confidence. Falling out of this strategy is the twice yearly fitness test. The primary aim of this test is to assess and evaluate the physical fitness of personnel.


There is a myriad of other activities available to serving personnel to assist with adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle throughout their Service career. These include badminton, football, rugby and squash to name a few, voluntary fitness training (circuits, spinning, boxercise) and adventurous training activities that require participants to demonstrate the elements of endurance and determination.


In addition, there is generous access to fitness equipment that is ‘state of the art’ and directly comparable to those offered by the local council or even private leisure clubs.


For serving personnel and their families alike they are very cheap by comparison to other ‘health clubs’ and are tremendous value for money. Family members can utilise the voluntary sessions offered by the Physical Education Flights and other suitably qualified personnel.


www.raf-families-federation.org.uk


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