You would have thought that with cycling in the Netherlands being such a big thing, the Dutch would be fighting fit and exercising regularly. And there’s where you would be wrong. According to the new guidelines issued by the Dutch Health Council on the request of the National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), only 45 percent of the population fits enough exercise into their week.
If we split the population groups up we can see that children between the ages four and 11 move the most, with 55 percent getting the recommended amount of exercise. Teens between the ages of 12 and 17 however, get the least exercise, 28 percent reaching the stated guideline amount.
The new exercise guidelines for children, adults and the elderly all follow the same motto: moving is good, but more is better.
In order to reach the weekly exercise quota two-and-a-half hours, cycling or walking is enough. If you want to go one step further you can add high intensity exercises to your weekly routine such as, running or playing football.
Even doing the washing up or playing an instrument count as activities that raise your heart rate slightly and belong to the low intensity category.
Exercising enough not only gives you that “happy” feeling from the endorphins you release, it also has a positive effect on your health.
By moving around enough you decrease your risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and depression, and in the elderly the risk of bone fractures decreases.