Do you live in one of South Africa’s fittest cities?
Did you know? One in two adults in South Africa are not active enough?
You are either a part of the 50% of fitter people in SA. Or, you’re a part of the 50% of people who aren’t moving enough.
What does that mean for you?
Staying active is vital. Dr Craig Nossel is head of Vitality Wellness. So, he’s pretty clued up on health and fitness. He believes that the two most significant causes of death in SA are:
- How we drive
- How much we move
He also said that 5 million deaths globally can be avoided every year if – people start moving more! How can this happen? How can you live a healthier lifestyle?
Now you need to ask yourself the following:
Am I moving enough?
Let’s look at how active our SA cities are. Discovery Vitality has the answers! They tracked the exercise habits of people who use the Discovery app.
Introducing: Discovery Vitality’s fittest City Index.
SA’s fittest and active cities results:
Physical activity:
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Durban
- Port Elizabeth
Bloemfontein didn’t even make the top five of South Africa’s fittest cities in terms of physical activity. They tracked the lowest step count, number of outdoor activities and number of visits to the gym.
Most gym workouts
Relevant to population size. Data was taken from apps and devices over a year.
Most outdoor activities
Outdoor activities include:
- Race events (includes running, swimming cycling, padding, surf ski, canoeing, multi-sport events and obstacle courses)
- Parkrun
- Myrun
Most steps tracked
Lastly, the cities who tracked the most steps were:
Relevant to population size. Data was taken from apps and devices over a year.
You need to move more – says Discovery…
Not sure how to start? Here’s how you can keep more active – no gym needed!
#1: 10 000 steps
Get an app that counts your steps. Aim to take at least 10 000 steps per day.
#2: Housework
Want a clean house and a fitter body? No need to hire in extra help. Light cleaning burns 85 calories per 30 minutes and heavier cleaning burns 102 calories per 30 minutes.
#3: Walk and talk
Stand up and walk around while speaking on your phone. This will boost your step count. And, if you have a desk job, this is a great excuse to get up and move during the day.
#4: Deskerises
Do a few exercises from the comfort of your own desk. Check out Deskercises for toning up at work
#5: Parkrun
Parkruns are organised across the country every week. Join in a 5km timed run near you. – For free! Find one close to you.
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