150 minutes of physical activity a week. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is associated with an average increase in life expectancy of 7.5 months, approximately 3.8 million fewer cases of cardiovascular disease, and a 0.6% reduction in average health care expenditures.
So what could be done to make us want to live virtuously?
Combining physical activity with daily commuting, mixing business with pleasure. This is the aim of the “I cycle... and I feel good!“ awareness campaign, which is being promoted by südtirolmobil together with the azienda sanitaria dell'Alto Adige/South Tyrolean health authority/Südtiroler Sanitätsbetrieb as part of the European LIFEalps project.
The campaign features a number of testimonials, including a musician biking to rehearsals with a tuba on his shoulder and a firefighter cycling the short distance to the fire station. The campaign also includes a sports physician, White Cross and Red Cross volunteers, and two elderly people who use their bikes for daily transportation.
These concrete examples show an active lifestyle now being adopted by many citizens who have decided to leave their cars in the garage and to walk or cycle sustainably on short, regular journeys from home to work or to school.
More questions?
Read how physical activity in everyday life can improve your health.