It is widely acknowledged that city dwellers nowadays do not exercise regularly. This essay will look at some primary causes of this and offer some viable solutions to mitigate the problem.
There are a number of reasons for this phenomenon. The first reason is that people living in metropolises lack appropriate spaces for working out. In order to meet the demand of growing population, urban planners tend to prioritize the construction of residential complexes, schools or healthcare facilities instead of parks and other open green areas. The severe shortage of these spaces render residents demotivated to participate in outdoor physical activities and gradually nudge them toward sedentary lifestyles. Another reason is that urban inhabitants do not have enough time to take regular exercise. Being occupied with crazy work schedules from early morning until late evening, many city dwellers are completely worn out after work and merely have limited leisure time to recharge their energy for the following day. As a consequence, an increasing number of residents prefer to spend their spare time on various unwinding activities such as watching movies, reading books or browsing on social networking applications rather than do some workouts.
There are several actions that could be taken to remedy the aforementioned problem. Firstly, urban authorities should restore and create more green spaces to encourage residents to engage in a wide range of physical activities, from running, cycling to doing aerobics. Hanoi, for example, is a city which has successfully implemented this measure. With the omnipresence of parks and spacious walking areas surrounding lakes, its inhabitants of all ages are now provided with convenient conditions to exercise at any time of the day. Secondly, it is high time city dwellers acknowledged that workouts do not drain their energy, but actually they multiply it. Some gentle exercises such as walking for 20 minutes a day or practising yoga not only helps people who have tight schedules reduce muscle tension, but also enable them to release stress and anxiety accumulated after long working hours.
In conclusion, although it is difficult for people in the cities to get enough physical exercise, there are some effective solutions to tackle this issue.