Thais need more exercise, study finds

A therapist massages a worker suffering from
A therapist massages a worker suffering from "office syndrome" in Din Daeng district, Bangkok. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)

A new study highlights the need for Thais to exercise more to ensure good health, with 76% spending seven hours or more sitting down each day.

The Health Department said the study considered health information gathered from 78,717 people in 77 provinces.

The report found that Thai people had become largely sedentary, with 76% of them sitting down for seven hours or more every day. However, about 72% spent about 150 minutes or more per week on physical activities - a sufficient amount of time according to the World Health Organisation standard.

One reason Thais had become less active was the change in working conditions, with the workforce moving from the agricultural or industrial sector to being in an office. The risk of early death had increased because of their low rate of burning energy.

The study found that some Thais did exercise or engage in recreational activities. People in urban areas were able to spend more time on physical activities than those in rural areas.

The study also revealed that more women did more physical activity than men.

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Vocabulary

  • activity (noun): a thing that you do for work, interest or pleasure, or in order to achieve a particular aim - กิจกรรม
  • agricultural (adj): of the science or practice of farming - ที่เกี่ยวกับเกษตรกรรม
  • energy: the physical and mental effort that you use to do something - กำลัง, พละกำลัง
  • gather (verb): to come/bring together in a group - รวมกลุ่ม, รวมตัวกัน, จับกลุ่มกัน, ชุมนุม
  • physical: connected with a person's body - เกี่ยวกับร่างกาย
  • recreational: involving enjoyment - เกี่ยวการสันทนาการ
  • rural: connected with the countryside outside big towns and cities  - ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
  • sedentary (adj): spending a lot of time sitting down or not moving - ซึ่งนั่งเฉย, ซึ่งอยู่นิ่ง
  • sufficient: enough - เพียงพอ
  • urban: connected with towns and cities - เขตเมือง
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