Fit in the new year: we tell you how to stay mobile and healthy

Good health is essential to enjoying life for as long as possible. The i deas editorial team spoke to Meinolf Krome, the Ecclesia Group's health manager, and provides an overview of important tips for everyday (office) life and shows why good health management in companies is becoming increasingly important and offers real added value for employees and employers alike.

Training: How much per week and what?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of cardiovascular training per week – in other words, moderate endurance training such as walking, swimming, going for a walk or cycling.

Prof. Dr. Ingo Froböse (Cologne Sports University) recommends doing musculoskeletal training twice a week. “This includes fitness classes and functional strength training that aim to strengthen the skeletal muscles – because these decrease with age if we don't take countermeasures. The consequences are often joint and back pain, increasing immobility and falls,” explains Krome the importance of strength training.

“Use it or lose it": If the muscles are not used regularly, they atrophy. This means that the muscles lose volume and strength. Krome explains the further progression: ”As a result, we also burn fewer calories at rest – the basal metabolic rate decreases. This is why you gain weight while consuming the same number of calories.”

Nutrition: How much of what is healthy?

Food can be roughly divided into three main components: carbohydrates, fats and proteins (also known as albumen).

Proteins have the advantage over carbohydrates and fats in that they burn more calories when metabolized in the body and support muscle building. “Therefore, athletes and people who want to lose weight should tend to consume more proteins – about 1.5 to 2 grams of proteins per kilogram of body weight instead of the WHO's recommended minimum of 0.8 to 1.5 grams,” says the health expert.

Animal proteins such as eggs, chicken, beef, quark and yogurt can be processed better by the human body. The vegetable proteins, which we find in nuts and legumes, among other things, have the advantage that they satisfy us for longer because they are processed more slowly. A mix of both is therefore ideal.

A healthy diet includes all three macronutrients. When putting together a vegetable and salad dish, all the colors of the rainbow should be represented. This way, we consume a variety of vitamins and minerals.

The health manager, who does a lot of sports himself, teaches courses and values a healthy diet, gives another important tip for shopping: “In particular, refined sugars and white flour products are really harmful to us. They don't satisfy you for long and contain few nutrients. A good rule of thumb when shopping is: anything with more than ten grams of sugar per 100 grams of product should be left on the shelf.”

Another rule from our health manager: skip the snacks! “Always ask yourself: am I hungry or do I have an appetite? Appetite is in your head: then we crave something specific like chocolate or a hamburger. Hunger, on the other hand, comes from the stomach. Appetite is not essential to life, but hunger is.” He recommends three meals a day that cover the macronutrients – i.e. carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Sitting is toxic: keep moving even in the office

The average German sits for 9.2 hours a day (DKV Report, July 2023), and the trend is rising. Prolonged sitting is just as harmful to the human body as poor nutrition. It is therefore advisable to ensure the necessary variety in the office as well, and to activate the large muscle groups here with simple exercises.

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Squats: 15 squats activate the gluteal muscles and thighs and boost circulation.

Plank position: the plank position stabilizes the entire core and back. It should be held for at least 20 to 30 seconds to be effective.

Plank: The plank position stabilizes the entire torso and back. It should be held for at least 20 to 30 seconds to be effective.

Dietary supplements: necessary or superfluous?

“There are some dietary supplements that provide great added value for our health,” explains the health expert. ‘Nevertheless, it should be determined in advance whether there is a deficiency at all.’ In Germany, people tend to develop a vitamin D3 deficiency between October and Easter because we simply cannot get enough sunlight at our latitudes. Yet it is fundamentally important for us. It strengthens the immune system and is considered a preventive measure against some cancers. “But a deficiency in magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids and zinc can also have health consequences for our cardiovascular system and our overall physical constitution,” Krome concludes.

Tessa Rölert