Early Bird tickets now available for the ELIA Wellness Summit 2024  Learn More

Physical

Consuming the optimal diet, being physically active, getting rejuvenating rest, being well hydrated, not smoking and avoiding toxic substances will help you live the best life, full of vigour and vitality.


DID YOU KNOW?

50% of Australians have at least one chronic condition, nearly 25% have two or more. Cancer, coronary heart disease and mental illness contribute the most to the disease burden (AIHW 2018). A staggering 80% of our risk of developing a chronic disease is related to our diet, movement, weight and smoking (Katz 2014).


THE FACTS!

1

Diets high in whole-plant foods can improve your physical wellbeing (Micha et al. 2015), and your mental wellbeing (Beezhold & Johnson 2012).

In 2000, 2.7 million deaths and 26.7 million disability adjusted life years were attributed to low fruit and vegetable consumption globally (Hall et al. 2009).

In 2010, 99.6% of the world’s adults did not consumed sufficient fruit and vegetables; 90% did not consumed sufficient nuts and seeds; 92.4% did not consume sufficient wholegrains (Micha et al. 2015) and 80% of the world’s adults consumed too much red meat and 61.5% consumed too much processed meat (Micha et al. 2015).

2

Exercise can improve your life, from helping you to control your weight to boosting your mood.

27.5% of the world’s adults don’t do enough physical activity (Guthold et al. 2019)

Insufficient sleep is affecting productivity, mood, mental health, energy levels, problems with memory, obesity and other physical health problems (NSF 2018).

67% of adults globally recognized that sleep is important for health, yet only 46% prioritise getting enough, 29% reported they feel guilty for not maintaining good sleep habits, and 58% said worry stopped them getting a good night’s sleep (Phillips 2018).

3

Insufficient sleep is affecting productivity, mood, mental health, energy levels, problems with memory, obesity and other physical health problems (NSF 2018).

67% of adults globally recognised that sleep is important for health, yet only 46% prioritise getting enough, 29% reported they feel guilty for not maintaining good sleep habits, and 58% said worry stopped them getting a good night’s sleep (Phillips 2018).

4

Over 200 health conditions are linked to harmful alcohol use, ranging from liver diseases, road injuries and violence, to cancers, cardiovascular diseases, suicides, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

In 2016, the harmful use of alcohol resulted in 3 million deaths globally (5.3% of all deaths) and 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years (5.1% of all DALYs) (WHO 2018).

5

Tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) is responsible for the deaths of about six million people globally each year, including 600,000 from secondhand smoke (WHO 2015).

Even 1-4 cigarettes per week is harmful to health (Bjartveit & Tverdal 2005) and e-cigarettes have been linked to stroke and myocardial infarction (Brauser 2019).


WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Increase physical activity

Increase consumption of whole plant foods

Get adequate sleep

Hydrate well

Minimise or avoid toxins

Eat, drink, move, rest to live your best.


References:

AIHW. 2018. Australia’s Health 2018. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2018-in-brief/contents/how-healthy-are-we

Atkin AJ, Adams E, Bull FC, Biddle SJ. Non-occupational sitting and mental well-being in employed adults. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2012; 43(2): 181-8. doi: 10.1007/s12160-011-9320-y.

Beezhold BL, Johnston CS. Restriction of meat, fish, and poultry in omnivores improves mood: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal. 2012; 11: 9. www.nutritionj.com/content/11/1/9

Bjartveit K, Tverdal A. Health consequences of smoking 1-4 cigarettes per day. Tobacco control 2005; 14: 315-320. Brauser D. e-cigarettes linked to increased stroke, MI risk. Medscape, February 5 2019.

Chen D, Kannan K, Tan H, Zheng Z, Feng Y, Wu Y, Widelka M. Bisphenol Analogues Other Than BPA: Environmental Occurrence,Human Exposure, and ToxicityA Review. Environmental Science and Technology. 2016; 50: 5438-53. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05387

Gasnier C, Dumont C, Benachour N, Clair E, Chagnon MC, Seralin GE. Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology. 2009; 262(3): 184-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006. Epub 2009 Jun 17.

Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001-2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1.9 million participants.

Hall JN, Spencer M, Harper SB, Lynch JW. Global variability in Fruit and vegetable consumption. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2009; 36(5): 402-409.

Hearing CM, Chang WC, Szuhany KL, Deckersbach T, Nierenberg Aa, Sylvia LG. Physical Exercise for Treatment of Mood Disorders: A Critical Review. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports. 206; 3(4): 350-59.

IARC Monographs – 112. 2018. Glyphosate. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Accessed 8/04/2019. https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono112-10.pdf

Jequier E & Constant F. Water as an essential nutrient: the physiological basis of hydration. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010; 64(2): 115-123.

Katz D. Lifestyle is the Medicine, Culture is the Spoon: The covariance of proposition and preposition. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2014; 8(5): 301-5.

Lindqvist PG, Epstein E, Nielsen K, Landin-Olsson M, Ingvar C, Olsson H. Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: a competing risk analysis of the Melanoma in Southern Sweden cohort. Journal of internal Medicine. 2016; 280: 375-87. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12496

Micha R, Khatibzadeh S, Shi P et al. Global, regional and national consumption of major food groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis including 266 country-specific nutrition surveys worldwide. BMJOpen 2015; 5 :e008705. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008705.

Mostafalou S, Abdollahi M. Pesticides and human chronic diseases: evidences, mechanisms, and perspectives. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 2013; 267(2): 157-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2013.01.025. Epub 2013 Feb 9.

NSF. National Sleep Foundation Recommends New Sleep Times. 2015. National Sleep Foundation: Arlington, Virginia. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times

  NSF. 2017. How much sleep do we really need? National Sleep Foundation: Arlington, Virginia. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/excessive-sleepiness/support/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need

NSF. 2018. White Paper: How Much Sleep Do Adults Need? 2018. National Sleep Foundation: Arlington, Virginia. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/professionals/whitepapers-and-position-statements/white-paper-how-much-sleep-do-adults-need

Philips. Better Sleep, Better Health. A Global Look at Why We’re Still Falling Short on Sleep. 2018. Philips: Best, Netherlands. https://www.sleepapnea.com/worldsleepday/WorldSleepDaySurveyReport_2018.pdf

Physical activity Guidelines Advisory Committee report, 2008. To the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Part A: executive summary. Nutrition Reviews. 2009; 67: 114-20.

SMD. 2018. Healthy Sleep. Sleep Medicine Division: Harvard Medical School. Boston; 2018 http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/

SHF. 2017. Asleep on the job – Costs of inadequate sleep in Australia. Sleep Health Foundation. Sydney. https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/files/Asleep_on_the_job/Asleep_on_the_Job_SHF_report-WEB_small.pdf

Stanton R, Reaburn P, Happell B. Is cardiovascular resistance exercise better to treat patients with depression? A narrative review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 2013; 34: 531-38.

Stothard ER, McHill AW, Depner CM, Birks BR, Moehlman TM, Ritchie HK, Guzzetti JR, Chinoy ED, LeBourgeois MK, Axelsson J, Writght KP Jr. Circadian Entrainment to the Natural Light-Dark Cycle across Seasons and the Weekend. Current Biology 2017; 27: 508–513.

van Uffelen JGZ, van Gellecum TR, Burton NW, Peeters G, Heesch KC, Brown WJ. Sitting-time, physical activity, and depressive symptoms in mid-aged women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013; 45(3): 276–81.

Warner GR, flaws JA. Bisphenol A and Phthalates: How Environmental Chemicals Are Reshaping Toxicology. Toxicological Sciences. 2018; 166(2): 246–49, https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfy232

WCRF / AICR. Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Cancer: a Global Perspective. Continuous Update Project Expert Report 2018. World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research: London, United Kingdom. Available from: dietandcancerreport.org

WHO/FAO: diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2003

WHO: Global status report on alcohol and health 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/274603/9789241565639-eng.pdf