Recently, the Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Mass Sports Department of the General Administration of Sport of China, and other relevant departments have initiated the "Balance Eating and Exercise: Two-Shoes Campaign" during related meetings. The initiative encourages office workers to keep two pairs of shoes: one pair of dress shoes for work, and another pair of sports shoes for walking to and from work, aiming to increase physical activity as a starting point for preventing and controlling chronic diseases.
In reality, the pace of life for office workers is getting faster, work pressure is increasing, yet exercise is often the most neglected aspect. Many chronic diseases are beginning to affect young professionals, with a clear trend of aging-related illnesses occurring at younger ages. Some office workers jokingly say, "At the age of thirty-something, with the body of someone in their forties or fifties." "Now we earn money using our health, and in the future, we’ll spend money to buy back our health."
"Too busy with work, no time" is the most common excuse office workers give for not exercising. But if you think about it carefully, is there really no time to exercise outside of work? There have been jokes about the “odd phenomena” in modern people’s approach to exercise—like "the higher you aim, the higher your status: luxury cars, high blood lipids, high blood pressure, high blood sugar," or "taking taxis to go out, using elevators to get to the gym, then sweating buckets on the treadmill."
It seems that rather than lacking time due to busyness, what’s missing is the determination and perseverance to exercise—many are just making excuses for not working out. Of course, some have already started reflecting on this, and the trend of green commuting is beginning to catch on among certain urban dwellers. These green commuters strictly adhere to principles of fitness and low carbon emissions: they walk if the destination is within a 20-minute walk, or bike if it’s within a 20-minute cycle—skipping the car altogether.
Green commuting actually has early practitioners of the "Two-Shoes Campaign" as well. Reporters observed on the streets and in parks of Yinchuan City that during morning and evening rush hours, it’s not uncommon to see office workers dressed in formal attire but wearing sports shoes—even carrying high heels or dress shoes as they walk. After observing a few times, some unfamiliar faces become familiar—they are the regulars who stick to walking to and from work all year round, the practitioners of the "Two-Shoes Movement."
More shoes, more health—why not? So, for the sake of health, office workers might as well let go of a bit of laziness, set aside some hesitation, and starting today, put on those sports shoes and start walking.