Unwise to depend on climbing stairs for exercise

The exhortation, in “Stand aside: Walking up and down escalators benefits health, brain age” (Jan 12), to climb escalators as a form of exercise should be taken with caution, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise.

Such exhortations can be seen in murals on public housing blocks, depicting residents climbing the stairs instead of waiting for the lifts.

My concern is that climbing escalators or stairs, if not preceded by proper warm-ups, could lead to knee injuries. Rushing up escalators could pose other detriments too.

Our body weight is confined to and exerts pressure on our legs, aggravated by gravity. That could explain why we tend to be bedridden towards the end of our lifespan — because of weak legs — but still have good upper limbs.

Overburdening our lower limbs could hasten this problem. Humans are created to move, and there are more than 500 muscles in our body to facilitate movement, voluntary and involuntary, that we must use or else lose.

To depend on our two lower limbs for our all-important exercise, for optimum health, is unwise.