爱丁堡大学

Sit Less, Get Active

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Physical inactivity and sedentariness are “silent killers”. Do you feel like you spend too much time sitting? Do you feel like you would like to be more active? Are you unsure about how to incorporate physical activity into your daily life? We are here to help. Join us on a journey to learn about how to sit less and become more active. Use this FREE course to learn how to monitor your own activity and set physical activity goals. We will feature various examples of how physical activity could be increased in different settings, such as your neighbourhood, home or work, to give you ideas of ones that could best fit your lifestyle. Are you a health professional? Use this opportunity to learn how to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine and also how to empower your patients to be more physically active. If time with a patient is an issue, you can simply “prescribe” this course to your patient. This course offers you a unique opportunity to receive weekly physical activity health messages and monthly video-reminders on how to increase physical activity in various settings for 6 months after the initial 3 week course. So, join us on the Sit less, get active! journey. Follow us on Twitter @GetActive MOOC #GetActiveMOOC. Also, visit our YouTube channel to check out the promo videos (more are to come) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xpBMzJXnffdUaY32-zPdA If YouTube is not available in your country, you can access the promo videos here https://media.ed.ac.uk/search/searchkeyword/sit%20less%20get%20active P.S. Before you start we would like to know about your approach to physical activity. Please check your emails so you can take the survey we have sent you. Then you can preview the course, or come back and join us when the session starts on September 4, 2017

From the lesson

Defining, measuring and getting started with physical activity

Welcome to the first week of the Sit Less, Get Active journey! Watch the exciting videos and learn the basics about physical activity and sedentariness; how much physical activity we should be doing; how to monitor your physical activity levels and set physical activity goals; and how to judge how credible the resources for physical activity are. Use the opportunity to engage with others by participating in discussion forums. Join the discussion on barriers and facilitators to physical activity, as we would love to learn more about what helps you or makes it difficult for you to be active daily. Also, share and discuss with us your favourite physical activity resources.Test your knowledge through practice or weekly quizzes and also practice monitoring your own physical activity and setting physical activity goals. Happy Learning! Sit Less, Get Active Team

Physical Activity Resources3:56

Meet the Instructors

Danijela Gašević
Lecturer
Centre for Population Health Sciences
Graham Baker
Chancellor's Fellow
Physical Activity for Health Research Centre
Andrew Murray
Sports Medicine Physician
Sport and Exercise, University of Edinburgh
Chris Oliver
Professor
Physical Activity for Health Research Centre
Helen Ryall
Healthy University Project Co-ordinator
Sport & Exercise, University of Edinburgh

[MUSIC]

We will give you a few pointers on things to look for when looking for

resources and also advise on how to be active safely.

Today with us, Dr. Andrew Murray.

Hi, Andrew.

>> Hello, Danijela.

>> I just wanted to start maybe with a question,

what are the things we need to think about before exercising?

>> Well, when you actually starting to think about exercising, that's great.

Taking those first steps to a healthier and more active lifestyle is fantastic.

There are a few things to consider to make it easier for yourself and

to make sure that is safe.

The first is please do recognize that those first few steps are the hardest, but

will get easier after that.

Something you can do is to start simple and then build up, so thinking about

of sitting less and walking more in the first instance is a great way to go.

You don't need to be running marathons, or playing squash or judo straight away.

Find something simple and

build up from there, because that's a really safe way to go.

If you sit less and to start moving more, for

99.9% of the population that's completely safe.

So from going from the couch to going for a walk, taking the stairs, going for

a bike ride, these things are all pretty much always going to be safe unless you

have one or two very rare medical conditions.

So, do that.

Consider making it easier for yourself, so go walking, take the stairs,

do things with friends.

It's a lot easier if you're actually doing things in an environment that you enjoy.

So go to the park, take the walk that you enjoy, and

just find a pleasant way of doing things.

Find an activity you've actually done before and taken some joy from, and

if you've got any considerations where you're not sure about whether it's okay.

So for example, if you've got heart problems,

then it may well be worth checking with your general practitioner,

family doctor or health professional before you start.

The same may go if you've got type 1 diabetes and

you're not sure where to start or if you're pregnant.

So hopefully a lot of the resources on this course will be really useful in terms

of getting started on physical activity while also working out how you can do so

safely.

So to sum up, the three key points for me is to find something that you enjoy,

start slowly and build up to any sort of activity beyond that, and then if you've

got any questions or are not quite sure, then consult with a health professional.

But 99% of the time things will be absolutely fine and the benefits you get

from regular physical activity are far greater than any risks associated with it.

>> Thank you so much, Andrew.

I would like also to touch upon the resources for physical activity.

Daily we are bombarded with a bunch of health and

fitness advice on the Internet or anywhere in the media.

So, how do we actually know which resources to trust?

>> Good question.

So, there a lot of resources out there and

it's sometimes difficult to know which ones to trust.

Just because it's on the Internet, it might still be true actually.

So there's some really useful information out there.

But I suppose the good news is that it's actually very, very simple.

The key points, regular physical activity is the single best thing that you can do

for your health and it can help prevent and treat about 40 chronic, mental health, and

physical health conditions.

That's really really simple and that's probably the key point.

The other thing is that if you sit less and to move more, it's fantastic for

your health and it's quite simple to actually do once you get started.

But in terms of actual resources if you're looking to delve a bit more deeply,

work out exactly what is true and what is less true,

then think about the wesbite you're looking at.

Who's actually written it, is it up to date, what sort of information is there,

does it sound too fantastic just to be true, is it practical?

And actually I suppose most important, is it useful to you?

Things that are happening in Edinburgh might be less relevant in Timbuktu or

Wellington, New Zealand or Antarctica.

So find a resource that you trust, get used to it, and come back to it time and

time again.

And hopefully it's been written by someone that has some sort of basis or

understanding of the actual topic area like.

>> Thank you very much.