In my last article1, I spoke about how detached we are as a society from what it means to be physically healthy and mentioned that the solution to our ailments as a society cannot be met through a top-down approach.

I argued instead that the solution must begin within the individual—that personal agency over one’s own life is at the root of us redeeming ourselves physically.

That challenging ourselves builds us—rather than breaks us—and that our addiction to comfort and automation actually deteriorates our bodies.

I also mentioned that one of the main reasons we lost touch with our physical vitality is because, at some point in our transition from an analogue world to a digital one, movement received a different meaning to it altogether.

Essentially, the reasons we move have changed drastically—in a world where movement used to be a necessity, it is now a luxury.

For the most part, people nowadays move because they want to, not because they need to.

Now, of course, there are extreme cases where movement can be labeled as “life-saving” and becomes somewhat mandatory—when one’s physicians may warn that inactivity will directly worsen a patient’s condition, for example. Additionally, there are other extreme cases where someone’s movement ability is completely impaired due to sickness or injury, making movement impossible.

However, I wish to stick to the general population while acknowledging that yes—while there are some who are on the fringe—they are not the topic of the general premise I’m trying to explore.

Having said that, before I continue forward to explore deeper ideas, I want to take a small step back and have a top-down look at our population in general.

Let’s have a look at how people move in a world where they don’t really have to.

This is important because it connects directly to my claim that in order for you to be truly healthy, you cannot do what “everyone else does.”

You must be an outlier and do things that most people simply don’t do.

You must be an exception to the rule.

Take a look at this pie chart illustrating the division between population groups in relation to the intentional physical activity they take part in compared to the following official guidelines from the CDC for basic physical fitness.

These guidelines are:

  • Aerobic activity: Over 150 minutes of “vigorous movement.”

  • Muscle strengthening activities: x2 times per week involving large muscle groups (legs, back, chest, etc.).

Note: This chart is based mostly on a mixture of CDC, WHO, and EU data I shared in the previous article, as well as newer data from 2018-2022 I researched for this article specifically. This also reflects my own experience of having coached thousands of people of all levels for 15 years. Due to the fact the data is epidemiologic, it is by no means accurate or substantiated by any exact scientific body but only a rough estimation.

It could be interesting to read about the groups and see where you stand!

image host Image original by the author.

No activity at all

Here we are looking at a significant part of the population—35.1% to be exact (25.3% of the U.S. population and 45% of the EU)—who report no physical activity at all outside of working hours.

This means that their daily movement involves incidental activity that they happen to do: working, playing with their children, walking the dog, or carrying groceries. And as we mentioned in the previous article, in today's digital, automated, and comfortable life—that isn’t much.

In fact, anything “out of the ordinary,” like an occasional Sunday stroll up a small hill, climbing a long flight of stairs, or jogging briefly to catch the bus, would feel like a genuine challenge to this group, let alone a slightly physically demanding task like running two kilometers at a reasonable pace, performing ten good push-ups, a single pull-up, or lifting a moderately heavy object off the floor.

The ratio between the US and the EU might feel surprising, considering the fact the US has significantly larger obesity rates than the EU, but in truth, obesity has almost nothing to do with movement and everything to do with individual habits and knowledge.

In my practice, when I stumble upon this branch of the population, I often find that their knowledge in regard to nutrition or physical health is extremely lacking. Nonexistent even. They are mostly unaware of what macronutrients are and choose their foods based on what they find tasty.

Most of them even purposefully avoid effort and movement whenever possible, rely heavily on processed, calorie-dense foods for nutrition, eat out most of the time, and spend little to no time thinking about their health.

As a result, many of them suffer from a growing list of chronic illnesses, allergies, autoimmune diseases, or orthopedic problems (even if they are as young as in their 30s).

At later ages, they realize that if nothing will be done about their condition, they either won’t live very long, or they will, but under severely unfavorable conditions.

Some activity but insufficient, or “not sick”

I call this group “Not Sick,” because, while they are much better off than the previous group, they are also not particularly healthy either.

This is the group that, when going to get their annual blood work done, will receive the “everything is normal” from the doctor.

However, absence of disease does not indicate the presence of health. It’s just that our benchmark for what’s considered “healthy” in terms of societal guidelines and norms is very low, and as long as we are not actively ill, we are considered as “healthy.”

And so while this group represents the average, so-called “healthy” human in modern society, there is a significant difference between actually being a healthy, functioning adult and simply not being sick.

Consider that this is the majority of people—50.5% in the US and 41.5% in the EU.

They usually work at a sedentary job and spend little time thinking about exercise or physical development. They are neither particularly fit nor particularly strong, but also not dramatically overweight or visibly unwell.

They are aware, however, of the importance of movement and nutrition, at least in the back of their minds, and so try to meet the minimal standard to remain healthy without pushing themselves too hard.

They possess little to no knowledge about what macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, or fats are and pay no attention to how much protein, fiber, or calories they consume per day. They are not junk foodoholics, and while they do ingest processed foods, their diet typically consists of basic groceries found at the nearby supermarket—some vegetables, some grains, the occasional piece of fruit, perhaps some meat.

That being said, the “Not sick” group is still miles and miles healthier than the previous group, not only because they actually move somewhat and possess an actual endeavor to be healthy, but also because they probably educated themselves at some point about the importance of the matter.

They are aware of the basic concept that short-term sacrifice will reap long-term dividends in the future, and while they don’t prioritize their health as much as others, they keep it in mind and aspire to be healthy.

Meeting or exceeding the minimal guidelines for health

Here we actually have several groups of population cramped up into one category:

From the average health and fitness enthusiast all the way to competitive athletes.

This is because, as mentioned before, I wish to stick to keeping the article focused on the general population—and therefore I don’t see it relevant to include a group that makes up 3% of the population, such as competitive athletes, especially because being an athlete doesn’t necessarily imply being healthy.

And as such, when we are looking at the 18.9% of people who meet or exceed the minimal guidelines for movement and consider what we’ve said up until now, we can understand that:

  • This is a very small part of the population (24.2% in the US and 13.6% in the EU).

  • That this group of people has the knowledge and the willingness to invest time and effort into their health, spending no less than 300 minutes per week for exercise (assuming an average weightlifting workout is 75 minutes).

My experience (and logic) tells me that a person who invests so long in moving purposefully per week also invests in their knowledge of nutrition and recovery. The vast majority of them are aware of what macronutrients are, are making an effort to adjust their calories based on their needs, and eat mostly whole foods with an emphasis on protein.

They care about their health and, at the very least, understand how intentional, intensive exercise and proper nutrition positively affect the body both short- and long-term.

They are significantly less sick, and significantly more metabolically healthy than the other two groups, and are capable of physical feats that the other 81.9% of the population simply cannot perform.

The tragic reality and the tools to navigate its waters

Considering this data is epidemiologic and that people usually report their activities in ways that make them appear favorable, I believe we’re looking at numbers that are significantly better than what reality actually is.

This unveils a sobering and tragic reality:

Somewhere along the lines of 85% of the population do not meet basic health standards for movement.

And this is concerning because to me it says that most of us are either sick or not sick. But only 15% of us are actually healthy. Now, there is nothing inherently different about any of these population groups—not genetics, fitness communities, social media influence, or fancy wearable trackers that account for this divide. At its root there are two interwoven forces that the 15% have and the others do not in the context of health: knowledge and agency.

Knowledge provides the “what”: It is the practical understanding of how much movement truly matters, why resistance training matters for long-term musculoskeletal health, or how macronutrient balance fuels both performance and recovery.

Without it, well-intentioned efforts end up with little to no results: not lifting weights because you’re afraid you’ll grow “too bulky” or under-eating protein because there’s a certain ideology behind your diet regime, for instance, both come from ignorance of facts.

Conversely, informed individuals know not just that they should exercise, but precisely how to structure their efforts in service of sustainable progress. And if they don’t—which is perfectly normal—they know to delegate this to a professional who does have the knowledge and follow their lead instead.

Yet knowledge alone remains—at the best case—potential energy.

No energy can be released without a catalyst—and that catalyst is agency. Agency is the understanding that you are responsible, and that you must be responsible—because no one is coming to save you. It is the fundamental understanding that you hold the reins, that you must take action if you want things to change.

It’s the proactive approach of "Ok, this is how things are; these are the facts—now what is there to do about it, and how can I do it considering the tools I have at my disposal?" And then doing it.

And herein lies the pivot: Agency over your life, as well as the desire to gain the knowledge to act, only comes when you really want to act. One can only want something truly when this something means something to them. In other words, change will only start and persist when it is tethered to a deeply personal why—to a personal meaning.

Rarely do we sustain habits that serve no deep story, no purpose beyond superficialities like “losing 5 lbs” or “having a summer body.”

We endure early alarms and dripping sweat in the gym or CrossFit box not merely because it is “good for us,” but because we have unearthed a reason that resonates with who we see ourselves as. In other words, we will persist in doing things that give us joy and that reverberate with our very soul. Be it the desire to sprint alongside our children, to ward off hereditary illness, to model resilience for those we lead, or simply to inhabit a body that feels like it can do whatever we ask it to do and that makes us feel proud.

It is such a “why” that transforms exercise from a checklist item that remains on the “to do” list on the fridge to an act of self-fulfillment.

In the articles that follow, we will explore practical tools for cultivating both knowledge and agency by excavating the deep ocean of personal meaning.

My aim is to help you find the inner compass that answers the question, “Why choose health?”

References

1 Modern comfort, ancient costs.

U.S. adults reporting no leisure-time physical activity (25.3 %). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), pooled 2017–2020 data: “25.3 % of adults reported no leisure-time physical activity.”
EU adults reporting never exercising or playing sport (45 %), OECD/WHO “Step Up!” report, covering the 27 EU Member States (2022): “45 % of adults said they never exercise or play sport.”
U.S. adults meeting both aerobic (≥150 min/week) and muscle-strengthening (≥2 days/week) guidelines (24.2 %), CDC FastStats summary of the 2020 National Health Interview Survey: “24.2 % met both the aerobic and the muscle-strengthening components.”
EU adults meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines (13.6 %), Eurostat “Health-enhancing physical activity statistics” (EHIS wave 3, 2019): “13.6 % of adults performed both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities in line with recommendations.”