On December 1st 2011, the University of Toronto's Faculty of Physical Education & Health held their second in a series of free, expert-led, public discussions covering important topics in health, physical activity, and sport.
Entitled 'Physical Activity: The Best Medicine?', the evening kicked off with an introduction by Michelle Brownrigg which discussed a recently released United Nations report and reviewed some of the latest statistics on Canadians' troubling lack of adequate physical activity.
Following this introduction, two U of T researchers, Jack Goodman and Guy Faulkner, spoke separately about their latest research. Prof. Goodman presented research dispelling many of the myths surrounding sudden cardiac events and physical activity, namely among long-distance marathon runners. The chances of being struck by lightning are probably better than dying suddenly while exercising! He concluded that the benefits of physical activity far outweigh associated risks. Prof. Faulkner spoke about his research into the anti-depressive effects physical activity has shown to provide to patients in clinical trials. Not only can physical activity greatly improve your mental health, but it's great for your sex life too!
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| The panel answers audience questions. |
Guest speaker and health reporter for the Globe & Mail, Andre Picard, finished the evening's presentations by discussing how the mainstream media has historically played a role in framing 'exercise' as being a torturous sacrifice instead of something that can be fun and easily incorporated into any daily routine. He also discussed how 'play' for children and young adults is co-opted by many organized team sports, turning physical activity from something natural, adventurous, and unstructured, into something monotonous and regimented.
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