The British Hospital promotes physical activity in the women month

The British Hospital has always joined the celebration of the International Women's Day and to the Women's Month in March then in the 2023 edition it chose to promote physical activity as a privileged tool for diseases prevention and reaching and keeping a better physical and mental health.

More than fifty women participated on Tuesday the 7^th in the workshop "Myths and Truths of Physical Activity in Women", given by the Sports Doctor Mateo Gamarra, member of the Physiatry Department of the British Hospital and a recognized doctor in the matter.

Gamarra began by pointing out the importance of physical activity for human beings due to the positive impact on their physical, mental and social health: "physical activity is a biological need", he mentioned.

He recalled his relationship with other aspects such as diet, good rest, balance and self-care, and he pointed out that, although "we all know healthy habits, it is difficult for us to change and take action".

"We know that we need physical activity and the importance of healthy habits but in the kind of lifestyle that we have today we fail when apply it," he said. As an example of the daily difficulties practice physical activity, Gamarra mentioned the cases of young women who study and work and start being away from physical activity.

It is about "maintaining or including physical activity as a life habit" because as small as it may seem it will contribute to the general well-being of the person. “Let's try to include the opportunities for movement that we have going up or down stairs, tying our shoelaces, avoid using the car to do nearby shopping,” he showed.

The specialist mentioned that the general recommendation is " try to do something, avoid perfect realities and make a change, even if they are little changes, set ourselves achievable challenges that are those that we can keep over time."

Each person has their own processes, their own time of become accustomed to, and their own way of progressing. A good "trick" to incorporate or reincorporate physical activity is to "mix it with the things that we like, so that we start being interested in them," Gamarra said.

As an example he mentioned the possibility of doing activities with "other people, friends, family, children, grandchildren", even if it is "slight to moderate physical activity". The specialist appealed to "motivational encourage" and he insisted that "perfection is the enemy of action, do something is better than do nothing."

"You don't have to do much to start, at the beginning it´s not recommended to do high-intensity activity "but aimed to periodicity or frequency and regularity. "The tortoise beats the hare," he summarized.

The doctor recalled that "a sedentary lifestyle and inactivity or lack of physical activity is a common health problem" which is linked to the pathologies that prevail in the country, non-communicable diseases.

Gamarra recalled that it´s an aspect to which the British Hospital pays attention and efforts and he recommended that the Institution's employees approach the Sports Medicine Polyclinic "to talk about medicine, physical activity and health", raise doubts and questions.