– I’ll probably arrive in Bergen around 10-11pm this evening. – What do you do? – Then there will be food. And bed. – No activity? – It’s a long way to go to the restaurant, then! jokes truck driver Vegard Torpoengen, who will be driving from Drammen. How are you? How do you keep fit? Have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the case. Professor warns against sitting still Torpengen is not alone in not being very active. As much as 80 percent of us sit still for over eight to ten hours every day. This is shown by figures in a new report by the Norwegian Sports Academy and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Report on physical activity level These are the main findings after the survey of Norwegians’ physical activity 80 per cent of us sit still for over eight hours every day. Of these, only 3 out of 10 meet the new recommendations for physical activity. The participants in the survey walked an average of 8,000 steps per day. 10 percent walk between 0 and 2,000 steps a day. The mapping of physical activity and sedentary time among adults and the elderly has been carried out at the Norwegian Institute of Sports and Sports in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The data collection was carried out in the period February 2021 to May 2022. The sample consists of a random selection of Norwegian citizens aged 20-70 drawn from the National Register. In addition, participants aged 65+ from senior centers and people with an immigrant background from mosques are included. A total of 3,006 people have agreed to participate. (Source: Norway’s top sports academy) – Among these 80 percent, there are very few who are able to carry out physical activity in accordance with the recommendations, says Jostein Steene-Johannessen, professor at Norway’s sports academy (NIH). – We still have a big job to do, says the professor after the findings. Photo: Caroline Bækkelund Hauge / news The health authorities’ advice, to compensate, is to be active for 300 minutes per week, at a moderate intensity. – Sitting for eight to ten hours every single day is in itself harmful to health, warns Steene-Johannessen. – You get “pain” Over 30 years behind the wheel of heavy transport he has sat, the best Vegard Torpengen from Numedal in Buskerud. In the course of his career, he has traveled countless miles of asphalt criss-crossing Norway’s geography. Some of the distance should – from a health point of view – have been completed on foot. He can feel the sitting still on his body. Last week, the professional driver drove to Narvik. – Then you can imagine. Then there are ten hours that day where you sit like this. You get “pains”. It’s not natural to sit so still, notes Torpengen from the cab. There won’t be as much walking as there would have been, admits Vegard Torpengen. Photo: Caroline Bækkelund / news – Health in every step According to the report’s findings, only three out of ten of those who sit a lot manage to move for the recommended five hours a week. – We still have a big job to do in terms of increasing the level of activity among the population in Norway, emphasizes Steene-Johannessen. Jostein Steene-Johannessen has mapped the activity level of the Norwegian people. Photo: Caroline Bækkelund Hauge / news Fortunately: Every step counts. This was not the case before. – What is new is that we no longer need to have a duration of ten minutes. There is health in every step. All activity, regardless of duration, is significant, encourages the professor. This means that the walk to the shop or to the post office is included in the health accounts. Steene-Johannessen recommends Vegard Torpengen to use the imposed rest time by taking a short walk. – The five hours a week can be portioned as you like. It is the total that is decisive. The activity is mapped using accelerometers. It provides more accuracy than questionnaire-based surveys. Photo: Yvonne Haugen / Norges idrettshøgskole Intends to be more active Two red plush cubes dangle from the windscreen of Vegard Torpengen’s 50-tonne trailer. They will do that for another four hours, before he takes a short break. Then the journey continues. Sitting. Behind the wheel. He finds it difficult to be more active. – We often park in a bus bay along a motorway where there is little opportunity to move. Then we arrive in the evening. Then you don’t really have the courage to do so damn much more. You go to bed. Must be rested for the next day. Vegard is comfortable behind the wheel – even if it has given him some “pains”. Photo: Caroline Bækkelund Hauge / news Nevertheless. For a long time he has thought about becoming more active. – But that is to carry out the idea, then. It’s a step, says Torpengen, who has to roar off with his lorry in order to arrive on time tonight: – There’s a trotting track nearby, then. Can trot a bit, he jokes.
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Eight out of ten sit still too much – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
