Taking Care of Your Health at Work, According to Emergency Physician Gérald Kierzek
Anne-Charlotte Vuccino, CEO of Yogist Well At Work®, spoke with Gérald Kierzek, an emergency physician, anesthesiologist, and intensive care specialist. He is also a regular contributor to Télématin and France Bleu, as well as Medical Director of Doctissimo. His philosophy: better understanding your body to take care of yourself at work and beyond. He has recently published a book on the subject titled “Deyrolle, Lessons in Anatomy.”
What is the state of health of French workers as 2023 comes to a close?
Gérald Kierzek
What I see in the emergency room is simply the result of the failure of preventive healthcare. I observe a general state of stress, which has worsened and become more widespread since the onset of COVID-19. We also see conditions that stem directly from a lack of physical activity, being overweight, poor posture, work-related stress… factors that are within our control.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are fast approaching: does the answer lie in sports? But what if you’re not athletic?
Gérald Kierzek
The Olympics are clearly an opportunity to talk about physical activity, though we should keep in mind that this isn’t the only health prevention topic worth addressing. Let’s use the Olympics as a chance to encourage the French to get moving; but keep in mind that the Olympics are performed by athletes. When we talk about physical activity, we’re not talking about sports at all.
“Physical activity should be viewed not as a sport, but as the opposite of a sedentary lifestyle.”
Sitting in our chairs, we lead sedentary lives. In fact, we should have set up an exercise bike under our computers for this interview!
For sedentary individuals:
- When we sleep, we don't move.
- When we get up to go to lunch, we sit back down.
- Then we take the car or public transportation, and we sit down.
- We arrive at work and sit down at our desks.
- At noon, we sit down for lunch.
- and so on, until evening.
Since the growth of the service sector, sedentary lifestyles have skyrocketed. Our muscles aren’t moving anymore! Yet physical activity—as the opposite of a sedentary lifestyle—is precisely about getting our muscles moving. Getting up, stretching, and taking breaks every two hours, just like when driving, is a first step. The same goes for taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or getting off the subway or bus two stops early to finish the journey on foot. Or… taking Yogist breaks!
The next step up is exercise. And even without talking about elite sports, you can combat many health issues simply by being more active.
The health benefits of physical activity (≠ sports)
Gérald Kierzek
- Physical activity can be beneficial for mild, short-term health issues such as migraines, sleep problems, stress-induced gastritis, neuralgia, and so on.
- In the medium term, physical activity helps prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- In the long term, physical activity reduces the risk of cancer. In fact, appropriate physical activity is now considered a standard part of cancer treatment, just like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Today, physical activity is an integral part of the treatment plan.
Data collected over decades show that physical activity reduces the risk of developing or recurring cancer by 30%.
However, with the scourge of a sedentary lifestyle, the number of cardiovascular diseases and cancers is on the rise, despite studies that agree on the need to be active. But we are unable to get the population to be active.
Life expectancy vs. healthy life years
Gérald Kierzek
Life expectancy is declining, and more than that, the number of healthy years is declining. In France, the age at which people begin to experience health issues is 63 and a half. In other words, we reach retirement completely worn out.
My grandmother used to say, “You’re digging your own grave with your fork.” I’d even go so far as to say that you can maintain your health through what you eat (diet) and through physical activity (exercise).
In Sweden, they reached the same conclusion as in France: people start experiencing health issues at age 63.5. So they got older adults moving through infrastructure, parks, senior fitness coaches, and more. As a result, the age at which people start experiencing health issues rose from 63.5 to 80! Staying active leads to healthier aging.
We should go beyond the 2024 Olympics and implement a prevention program that spans an entire generation. This would involve focusing on children born today and encouraging them to be physically active, with the goal of seeing an 80% reduction in cardiovascular disease cases in 30 to 40 years. Yes, that means 80% of cardiovascular diseases are preventable! Heart attacks and strokes are preventable—not through medication, which comes into play only after the fact, but through physical activity and nutrition.
The bottom line on taking care of yourself at work
Gérald Kierzek & Anne-Charlotte Vuccino
Breaking the sedentary lifestyle means incorporating movement into your workdays. The secret lies in consistency and discipline. Keep in mind that the physical activity needed to counteract a sedentary lifestyle (30 minutes a day on weekdays) doesn’t have to be intense exercise.
Yogist breaks were created specifically to address this need to take care of yourself at work. Short and designed to stretch your muscles, relieve muscle tension, and reduce mental stress, Yogist breaks can be done right at your desk, without changing clothes.
