12 Aug
WHEN we are preparing to safely transition towards a “new normal” in which social and economic life can function amidst low, we must mobilize a whole-of-society approach to not only supporting one another to stay safe but also to creating activity for healthy.
No doubt. Regular physical activity remains an important strategy for staying healthy and is associated with lower levels of anxiety and perceived stress (which many of us are feeling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic).
When it comes to promoting physical exercise as a mass campaign, it is required to take measures consistent with the new normal during and following the COVID-19 crisis.
The Ministry of Health and Sports adopted strategies for ensuring the good health and fitness of the people, under a programme entitled “Exercise is Medicine”.
The ministry is carrying out tasks which can turn the people’s participation in weekly physical exercise activities in December, designated the People’s Sports Month, into a habit and culture encompassing “Exercise is Medicine.”
Mass walking and physical exercise activities have been held every Saturday in December nationwide. This does not mean we should exercise every Saturday in the winter, but it alerted all people not to ignore physical exercise in their daily lives.
In this regard, we should conduct sports and physical exercise campaigns by occasionally designating suitable days throughout the year, in an effort to raise the public’s awareness that “Exercise is Medicine.”
It is worth noting that the very best thing you can to boost your immune system and prepare your body to fight disease is exercising.
If exercise was a pill it would be regarded as a wonder drug, the best medicine, so powerful are its known effects to improve everything from general wellbeing to musculoskeletal disease to cardiovascular problems to diabetes, multiple sclerosis, mental health, anxiety and depression.
With a new policy giving priority to raising awareness about health, prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, school health, safety of patients, and health research, our country is evolving into a people-based system, because people are the most effective resource in our system to benefit the country and the people.
Myanmar aspires to achieve, as part of its vision 2030, a healthier and productive population. However, for the aspiration to be fulfilled, there is much work that needs to be done, both in terms of Health System Strengthening (HSS) and in changing peoples’ behaviors, such as regularly exercising, including walking.
