Health Chief Urges: Exercise Moderation

WASHINGTON — The surgeon general Tuesday called upon Americans to commit themselves to doing less exercise in 1997--and to do it less vigorously--than they think they should.

Wait: It’s not the way it sounds.

Many Americans, shamed by their slothful behavior during an indulgent holiday season, typically make overly ambitious exercise resolutions for the New Year. They go out and try to run five miles. Or they join a gym and spend two hours working out the first day. Or they spend a lot of money on a piece of expensive equipment, like a treadmill or a stair climber, and use it for several hours as soon as they get it home.

Big mistake.

They get tired and sore. Or they get injured. They become discouraged, and they quit--winding up in the end doing nothing at all.

So, federal health officials, mindful of this pattern of failure, are trying a new approach this year to an old subject.

“The best exercise is one that you are going to do,” said Acting Surgeon General Audrey F. Manley, urging Americans to become fit and enhance their health by embracing “a more moderate approach” to working out.

“We need to throw out the notion of no pain, no gain,” said Florence Griffith-Joyner, co-chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and 1988 Olympic gold medal sprinter.

“Regular moderate physical activity can make you feel good and improve your health . . . [I] urge all Americans to resolve to get moving in 1997,” she said.

More than 60% of American adults do not achieve the recommended amount of physical activity, according to the surgeon general, and 25% do not exercise at all.

The figures are just as grim for young people ages 12 to 21: nearly 50% are not active on a regular basis.

Experts believe that many Americans do not necessarily shun exercise, but find it extremely difficult to find time to include it in the framework of already busy days.

Thus, in recent years, they have tried to convey the message that overly vigorous workouts are not necessary.

The fitness experts have tried to promote activities that can be more easily incorporated into an ordinary day--such as using the stairs to one’s office instead of an elevator--and have stressed that just a little bit of activity, even broken into segments at different times of the day, can produce enormous health benefits.

Research has shown that moderate exercise on a regular basis can substantially reduce the risk both of developing or dying of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer or high blood pressure.

Exercise has also been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while enhancing energy and the ability to perform daily tasks.

Examples include walking briskly for 30 minutes, washing and waxing a car for 45 minutes to an hour, gardening for 30 to 45 minutes, pushing a stroller for a mile and a half in 30 minutes, or swimming laps for 20 minutes.

“Developing a more active lifestyle is easy, but it requires a commitment,” said Tom McMillen, a former Maryland congressman and ex-National Basketball Assn. player who co-chairs the president’s fitness council with Griffith-Joyner.

“You don’t need any special equipment or a fancy gym. Just get up and get moving,” McMillen said.

Resolve to add more activity to your life each day,” he said. “Walk during your lunch break, use the stairs instead of the elevator, park farther away from the store, walk the dog, play with your children.”