How Exercise Became a Thing

A study on London bus conductors started the exercise revolution.

Before the days of personal trainers, gyms, and wearable fitness trackers, exercise was seen as a mundane task just for manual laborers. This was until the 1950s when doctor Jeremy Morris conducted the first medical study on exercise. Dr. Morris found the perfect laboratory in the iconic London double-decker busses.

He started monitoring and comparing the heart rate of the sedentary drivers, who sit for 90% of their shift, with the conductors that climbed about 600 stairs daily. His conclusion was staggering, with the conductors having 50% of the number of heart attacks of the drivers. Dr. Morris pursued other studies that further validated the thesis of exercise being healthy with studies on postal workers and other civil servants.

Thanks to Morris' research and advocacy, exercise became a field of study in its own right, leading to a better understanding of its numerous physical and mental health benefits. Today, it's hard to imagine a world where regular exercise isn't considered a cornerstone of good health, and we have Morris to thank for that.

And he took his own seriously. Almost every day, well into his mid-90s, Dr. Morris swam, pedaled his exercise bike, or walked for at least half an hour.

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