We see a falling number of urban citizens engaged in physical exercises these days. It is essential to understand the major causes behind this phenomenon and work out the solutions to reverse the trend, as physical exercise plays a crucial role in a healthy life.

The reasons can be multifarious. Firstly, people often lead a busy lifestyle and experience great pressure from work and daily chores, having no time to do the workouts. In the daytime, they work or study under enormous pressure: students are crammed with knowledge of different subjects, group discussions, as well as endless assignments while workers are tied up to multi-tasks, deadlines, and projects. As a result, when they want to take a break away from their busy life after a prolonged day, they do not retain much stamina and energy to participate in sports in the evening. In addition, the ubiquity of electronic devices, such as smartphones or tablets, allure people to lead a sedentary lifestyle. What people prefer in the spare time is to just lie flat on their sofas and read the social media feeds or watch short videos on their mobile phones, which can offer them more instant gratification and exhaust less energy than doing exercises.

In response to such a phenomenon, I believe a few measures can be taken to address these issues. The most effective one is for the government to regulate the working hours and prohibit working overtime and so that the city-dwellers are given more sufficient free time to maintain an active lifestyle. Another solution is to launch the awareness campaign to inform people of the detrimental effects of sedentary lifestyle and the benefits of doing work out. Moreover, governments can construct ample fitness facilities in the parks of communities, providing people with easy access to physical exercises. Last, governments can take advantage of celebrities’ influence and set a good example for the general public. A perfect case in point involves a fitness instructor who has recently triggered a fitness craze across China to encourage people to follow him doing fitness exercises on the livestreams every evening. His livestream videos are also widely spread by state media which also want to advocate a healthy lifestyle among people anxiously.

The problem of lacking sufficient exercise could have a long-term impact on a person’s life, and to change this situation, both individuals and the community need to take effective actions.