The regular activity

With an increasingly sedentary population the regular activity is more valuable than ever before.
There has traditionally been a huge part of Norwegian culture to spend time outdoors, performing various activities, throughout the year. Nowadays most work in Norway are done with a lot less physical activity than just a couple decades earlier, which translates into the more inactive lifestyle led by most Norwegians today.

This makes all the recreative activities very important, such as hiking, gardening, sports, cycling etc.
Living as far north as Norwegians do puts some limits on activities during the year.

During the winter months in Norway the sun is absent for a lot of the day, in some of the most northern places the sun is actually completely absent for a couple of weeks around Christmas time.
Due to the lack of natural sunlight some Norwegians are at greater risk of vitamin d defiency. This coupled with cold temperatures and challenging weather, which makes some of previously mentioned activities more difficult all leads to a less healthy lifestyle, both physically and psychologically.[1]

After considering some of these limiting influences it’s not hard to imagine why many Norwegians take pride in skiing, and the traditions surrounding the sport and it’s many variations.

Of all the norwegian traditions skiing might just be the most particular, with just about everyone strapping on a couple of skis and venturing out in the nature.
It is considered both a sport and recreational activity, and many Norwegians use skiing for all manners of purposes.
Skiing is a lot like hiking in the way that if you have proper technique and you adjust the intensity accordingly it might be less tiring, and more akin to the regular activity.

The picture included is showing what a lot of Norwegians, especially those who grew up in a less globalized world consider common, healthy activities, performed at any time and place (with snow and appropriate temperatures).


[1] https://nhi.no/trening/aktivitet-og-helse/fysisk-aktivitet-og-helse/fire-av-fem-nordmenn-beveger-seg-for-lite/

Also: https://nhi.no/sykdommer/hormoner-og-naring/naring-og-vitaminer/vitamin-d-mangel/?page=3

(Sources in norwegian)

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One thought on “The regular activity

  1. Hey
    “Times are changing and at the same time some cultures are lost and forgotten”, I like how you mentioned that some Norwegian cultures which were very beneficial to the people are being lost. Your post is well thought, short, concise and straight to the point,and a very interesting use of words. Inactivity is also some of the things we are dealing with as South Africans, which obviously has an impact on health.
    however to improve your post;
    paragraph 1- on the second sentence you can say ‘Nowadays most work in Norway is……’ instead of “are”.
    paragraph 3- here you could say ” which makes some of the previously mentioned activities more difficult and it all leads to a less healthy lifestyle, both physically and psychologically….”
    However I really enjoyed reading through your post, I got a lot of insight from both your opinion and facts.your claims are well supported and well presented.
    cheers!!!

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