The Director Weighs In: Lazy or Leisurely?

By now, most of you have read the reports of Louisiana being categorized as the “laziest” state. Being born and raised here in the state, I typically take offense to reading such reports. It is as if someone is accusing one of my family members of a crime and I feel the need to defend it.

At first glance, the findings make it sound like we do not like to work. I know for a fact, this state is home to a proud, hard-working group of citizens. You don’t survive the natural (Katrina, Rita, Gustave) or man-made (BP) catastrophes without a strong backbone.

So what did they really mean? Well, they were really referring to our time spent AWAY from work. You know, leisure time. And apparently, a large majority of our day is spent in a physically inactive way:

	National Average	Louisiana
Sleeping	8 hrs 35 min	8 hrs 44 min
Watching TV	2 hrs 38 min	3 hrs 5 min
Relaxing/thinking	18 min	29 min
Socializing	44 min	54 min
Working	3 hrs 23 min	2 hrs 41 min

It may not look like much, but those extra minutes sleeping add up to almost 2 extra days per year. We also spend almost 7 more days per year in front of the television. All of this “leisure” time means that we spend less time on physical activity. Add to the fact that we Louisianian’s love to combine social time with food and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we are also considered one of the heaviest states.

The take-away piece here is that only 1 in 3 adults engage in enough physical activity to benefit their health. Today’s sedentary, and technologically supported lifestyle is in direct conflict with our body’s own design…to move! Regardless of whether or not you mentally want to be active, realize that the body needs it. A good guideline would be 3 days of cardiovascular exercise combined with two days of strength training, but it is certainly worth discussing what is appropriate for you with your doctor or other qualified professional.

Your body is the most precious, expensive (priceless), irreplaceable thing you own- so treat it that way!