Does physical activity show signs of a tomato effect? You might rightly ask: “What’s a tomato effect?” The tomato effect is a term used to describe a phenomenon whereby highly efficacious therapies are either ignored or rejected. Generally, the reason for this is that the therapies don’t seem to make sense in light of popular beliefs or common understandings. A tomato effect, however, can also occur if people simply ignore the evidence available.
For example, the use of aspirin to reduce the pain, swelling, and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by a tomato effect. Why? At the end of the 19th century, several studies found that aspirin was effective in relieving the pain, swelling and stiffness of this disease. Also at this time came the acceptance of the infectious theory of disease. So it just did not make sense that aspirin, a pain and fever medicine could have a positive effect on a chronic infectious disease like rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, from 1900 to 1950, most medical textbooks and articles on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis didn’t mention aspirin as a potential treatment. By the early 1950s, the infectious theory was discarded, and rheumatoid arthritis was seen as a chronic inflammatory disease. Aspirin only became an accepted treatment about 70 years after the original studies found that aspirin is effective in treating arthritis.
The term tomato effect is derived from the history of this fruit in North America. The tomato was originally discovered in Peru and transported to Spain and then throughout Europe. By 1560, the tomato played a significant role in the diet of most Europeans. In North America, however, tomatoes were avoided because they were considered to be poisonous. The basis for this belief was that tomatoes belong to the nightshade family of fruits and several nightshade plants can cause death if eaten in large quantities.
Throughout the 18th century, tomatoes were not grown in North America. In fact, a major turning point did not occur until 1820. According to legend, in a dramatic gesture, a man ate a tomato on the courthouse steps in Salem, New Jersey. And survived! He stood upon the courthouse steps and ate tomatoes in front of a large amazed crowd assembled to watch him do so. When he neither dropped dead nor suffered any apparent ill effects, witnesses of his “experiment” slowly began to open their minds. By the end of the decade, American gardeners were growing tomatoes for food and today they are a nutritious and popular food source.
So to answer the question “does physical activity show signs of a tomato effect,” we need to address three issues. First: Is physical activity an efficacious therapy? Research clearly shows that every part of our body benefits when we engage in physical activity. In fact, regular physical activity is one of the best prescriptions that people of all ages can take for physical and psychological health benefits. Daily physical activity stimulates a number of beneficial changes in the body, and it is very effective for preventing and treating many of our most prevalent chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, depression and diabetes. The bottom line: Physical activity is very good for us.
But just how good is physical activity for us? People who exercise regularly have much lower rates of morbidity and mortality. In other words, exercisers are healthier and will live longer than non-exercisers. In fact, people who are regular exercisers can expect to live an average of seven years longer than their physically inactive friends.
A second part of the tomato effect question pertains to whether people tend to either ignore or reject exercise. Are people eating the tomatoes? Or, stated another way, do people exercise regularly? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is a qualified no.
For example, in the United States, only 20 percent of adults meet the current physical activity guidelines. In other words, 80 percent of American adults are not eating the tomato. The take-home point here is that few people are physically active on a regular basis, and this situation is seen not just in the United States but across the world. The worldwide low activity levels have been referred to as a “pandemic of physical inactivity.”
A third part of the question pertaining to whether a tomato effect toward physical activity exists is whether the portion of the population who are not physically active (i.e., the non-tomato eaters), have a full understanding of the benefits of a physically active lifestyle. Once again, the answer to this question is yes. Most American adults know that physical activity is good for them and that they should be physically active. In fact, 94 percent of adults will answer yes when asked whether physical activity is good for their health.
So the answer to the question “does participation in physical activity show signs of a tomato effect?” seems to be a qualified yes, because we have answered yes the following three issues:
- Yes, physical activity is an efficacious therapy.
- Yes, people either ignore or reject physical activity.
- Yes, people know the benefits of physical activity.
The next important question is: How do we overcome the tomato effect toward physical activity? This is a much tougher question and one with no simple answer. One useful approach is through science – science that focuses on the psychology of physical activity and sedentary behavior. This emerging science reveals the complexities of changing people’s attitudes and behaviors toward exercising too little and sitting too much. This is a great article by Heather Hausenblas and a very interesting take on how society views the subject of exercise. We know it is good for us, yet so many of us choose to not partake because it is too much like work.