Prescribed physical exercise, an investment in health, fitness — Don

A professor of Physiotherapy at the University of Ibadan, Ade Adeniyi, says physical exercise is an investment in health and fitness when done continuously.

Adeniyi stated this in Ibadan on Wednesday at the 4th Nwuga Physiotherapy Foundation Distinguished Annual Lecture organised by the Nwuga Physiotherapy Foundation in honour of the first African Professor of Physiotherapy, the Late Prof Vincent Nwuga.

Professor Adeniyi, in his lecture entitled ‘Reaping the by Product of Investment: The Gains of Sustainable Physical Activity, in a Depressed Economy, said regular physical exercise has been proven to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and several cancers.

Adeniyi, also the Deputy Provost, College of Medicine and Director, Exercise is Medicine, Nigeria, declared: “Health and fitness is an individual thing. The general public needs to participate more actively in what concerns their health.  Fitness is not achieved by sitting down in one spot, people need to work for it.

“So anything that has to do with fitness has to be earned by actually working it out. In order to be fit and be able to live a good quality of life, people have to keep moving, they have to exercise. The exercise can be in any form not necessarily that you have to acquire sophisticated devices to exercise.

“Whatever they can do within their homes, their office space would qualify to give them improved health, they just need to ensure that the muscles of their body are contracting. Move your arms and legs and cover spaces, not just move on the same spot. While that is better than doing nothing it is also good that you cover space as it is very beneficial to the body.”

Professor Adeniyi noted that fitness cannot be achieved when an individual sits on a spot just as having an ailment should not stop anyone from exercising

According to him, “with prescribed exercises, it will help various conditions such as body joints, hypertension, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.”

In his remarks, the Acting governor of Oyo State, Mr Adebayo Lawal said the lecture was apt as it coincided with the discussion at the just concluded meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum, noting that health promotion was important to healthy living, hence the state allocating a huge sum of its budget to the health sector next to education.

In their separate goodwill messages, Provost College of Medicine, Professor Yinka Omigbodun; Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital (UCH), Professor Jesse Otegbayo; Vice-Chancellor UI, Professor Kayode Adebowale; and President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Dr Nnenna Chigbo, eulogised the virtues of the late Prof. Nwuga and the need for everyone to invest in their health.

In her response, Mrs Olapeju Nwuga, wife of the late Prof. Vincent Nwuga, appreciated the organisers of the lecture and enjoined physiotherapists to practise with joy and love.