1: Lifestyle Management Plan - Assignment Example

A recent study by Mealing et al. also estimated that the prevalence of Australian adults whose physical activity met national recommendations was between 20.7% to 46.2% (2010). Physical inactivity is among the most significant health risk factors. It contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even breast and colon cancer. An adequate level of physical activity is protective against these diseases (WHO, 2011). Begg et al. determined physical inactivity to be the fourth leading cause of disease burden in Australia, constituting 6.

6% of the total burden (2007). Its contribution to the burden of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes stood at 23.7%, while its contribution to the burden of cancer in Australia was found to be 5.6%. Considering the significant health burden imposed by physical inactivity, increasing physical activity to recommended levels must be a part of disease prevention and control strategies. This paper outlines a short-term plan for a young male to increase and evaluate physical activity, then maintain it at the level required for health benefits.

Discussion The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults (The Department of Health and Aged Care, 2005) categorizes the intensity of physical activity as moderate and vigorous. . The pedometer is considered the most objective measure of physical activity, as it rules out over-reporting that can occur with the other methods. The pedometer is a small device, attached to the belt, that counts the number of steps taken per day (Marshall and Miller, 2004). The use of the pedometer has also been found to encourage physical activity, to the extent of decreasing body mass index and blood pressure in users (Bravata et al., 2007). Shaw et al.

also found that 87% of the respondents participating in a workplace physical activity program felt that the pedometer encouraged them to take more steps (2007). This lifestyle management plan uses the Active Australia Questionnaire and the pedometer over four weeks as both the intervention to increase physical activity, and to measure the change. The DW-700 model pedometer, found accurate by Marshall and Miller (2004), will be used. Objective and Methodology: The objective of the plan is to achieve a significant increase in physical activity over a period of four weeks.

The plan will be carried out as follows: The participant will wear the pedometer for four weeks. Every evening during this period, the participant will note the number of steps shown on the pedometer for the day into a logbook. The participant will also review the entries for the previous days. This review will be motivation for increasing the number of steps the next day. At the end of each week, the participant shall fill the Active Australia Questionnaire part that pertains to the past week (Appendix 1).

Results and interpretation: At the end of four weeks, the number of steps should be much higher than those recorded in the first few days.