You probably know you're supposed to get 30 minutes of exercise every day.
But you're busy. You're tired. You'll do it tomorrow.
These aren't excuses, and you're not just lazy, says Tim Bungum, associate professor of health promotion. They're obstacles, and he wants to help you overcome them.
Bungum's research is helping people get past the daunting 30-minute recommendation and start working activity into their day little by little. His research has shown how the simple act of posting public reminders to be active — such as taking the stairs or parking far from a destination — can influence behavior and produce benefits.
"Most of the work of being a human has been taken out of our lives. We don't have to walk to work, or hunt or gather our food," Bungum said. "But we are designed to move."
While health experts would still love to see Americans commit a half-hour a day to working out, they now acknowledge that you can gain some health benefit through intermittent bouts of moderate activity. "What that won't do is sculpt your body," Bungum said. "But your body doesn't have to be beautiful to be healthy."
For his study, signs were posted around Bungum's own building at UNLV and at the Clark County Health District with slogans such as "No time to exercise? Take the stairs." The researchers observed the proportion of people in the building who used the stairs before and after the signs went up, and found that they did choose the stairs more often with the suggestions in place.
What seems like such a minor shift in behavior can be the impetus to start a new fitness habit, Bungum said. It's a matter of managing your life, not just your time.
"People who exercise are every bit as busy as people who don't," Bungum said. "What ultimately builds toward a habit is if you reward yourself in the short term. If you reward yourself externally, eventually you may find yourself saying 'I really like feeling strong,' or 'My pants don't fit as tight.'"
The benefits of publicly posted fitness messages may soon lead to communities that are designed for fitness, not the drive-through. Bungum said planners, architects, and publichealth officials are seeing the wisdom of working together to include activity-friendly elements in new developments such as sidewalks, narrow and connected streets (versus cul-de-sacs), greenbelts, and mixed-use areas.
