Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/85232
080: health&wellbeing What Moves You? the power of HABIT as a motivator WORDS BY: MARIE-THERESE BORLAND I wonder how many of us ever stop and think how much of our lives are based around our habits. While we possibly can't pinpoint exactly when many of them became incorporated into our lives, we recognise that habits make life predictable and comfortable and can be a powerful force in helping us achieve our goals. In a recent publication, "The Power of Habit" Charles Duhigg promotes the idea that habits have three components; a cue, a behaviour and a reward. The cue is the thing or event that prompts us to do something (life changing events are the strongest cue); behaviour is the action that occurs as a result of the cue and the reward is what we receive or experience as a result of the behaviour. Duhigg believes the reward is the most important of the three components because it acts as a strong motivator to repeat the behaviour until it eventually becomes a habit. Increasingly, health care discussions focus on addressing the causes of disease and possible preventative measures. Many evidence based studies illustrate that physical activity (exercise) has a role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease (the biggest cause of death for New Zealand women according to the NZ Heart Foundation) and type 2 diabetes to name a couple. Studies have also shown that regular exercise may help reduce the risk of breast cancer, assist in recovery from treatment, and help to reduce recurrence. All of the above reasons make a convincing case to increase the level of physical activity in our lives. However, even though exercise has been proven to be effective, we often find it difficult to create the habit despite its benefits. Part of the reason for this is unfortunately due to various media promoting to women the misconception that the cue for regular exercise is weight loss and the reward a body like a supermodel - a most unrealistic reward and one most women won't experience! While weight loss is important, particularly in the prevention of many diseases including breast cancer in post menopausal women, the real rewards of regular exercise are the wider benefits of enhanced health and well being. These real benefits however are unfortunately drowned out by misleading promises and unrealistic expectations. Not all