THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON THE WELLBEING OF

PEOPLE MIGRATING FROM A HOT CLIMATE TO A COLDER

CLIMATE (A CASE STUDY OF AFRICANS IN ESTONIA)

INTRODUCTION

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a physical activity is any skeletal muscle-
driven movement that involves the use of energy. All movement, whether done for recreation,
transportation to go to and from locations, or as part of a person's job, is considered physical
exercise. Both intense and moderate physical activity are beneficial to health. One of the most
crucial things you can do for your overall health and wellbeing is to exercise regularly.

Physical activity may strengthen your bones and muscles, help you maintain a healthy weight,
increase your ability to carry out daily tasks, and improve your cognitive health irrespective of
the climatic conditions. Adults who spend less time sitting and engage in any level of moderate-
to-vigorous exercise reap serious health advantages.

Physical activity has a greater influence on your health than very few other lifestyle decisions.
Physical activity has health advantages for everyone; no matter the age, ability, ethnicity, form,
or size.

Walking, cycling, wheeling, sports, active recreation, and play are all common methods to be
active that anybody may do for fun and at any ability level. It has been demonstrated that regular
exercise helps control and prevent noncommunicable illnesses like diabetes, heart disease,
stroke, and a number of malignancies. Additionally, it lowers blood pressure, supports a healthy
body weight, and enhances mental health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
Moving forward, it is easy to discover several parallels across various immigrant and refugee
populations in terms of perceived facilitators and obstacles to physical exercise in colder regions.

Although the advantages of physical exercise are generally accepted, the biggest obstacles to
physical activity in low temperature conditions are a lack of familiarity with and comfort with
techniques to begin the said physical activity. [Mark L., 2015]

A very welcome global action plan to curtail this obstacle was adopted at the 72nd World Health
Assembly, which took place from May 20–28 of this year in Geneva, Switzerland. It aims to
create a "framework of objectives and guiding principles... to enhance the health of refugees and
migrants". The predicted increase in worldwide migration from 2000 to 2017 of 49%, reaching
258 million people, highlights the urgent need for leadership by WHO and other players. [WHO,
2019]

Participants of various studies spoke of being inspired to engage in physical activity by the social
support of their families, friends, and communities, but they usually end up not following
through due to extreme physical conditions. [Mark L., 2015]

The WHO report also states that the estimated 68.5 million forcibly displaced people—including
25.4 million refugees—are at their highest-ever level, with the bulk of them being hosted in low-
and middle-income countries. Now, with the exacerbation of the Russian/Ukraine war and
various humanitarian crises occurring simultaneously in several parts of Africa, that figure is
bound to keep increasing exponentially.

Additionally, ten million stateless individuals lack the fundamental human rights to healthcare,
education, and freedom of movement. Even though there are vast numbers of individuals living
all over the world that exceed the populations of many particular nations, all too frequently no
government or international organization is able to provide this virtual state of migrants and
refugees with the necessary protection or healthcare.

Migration, whether it is voluntary or not, involves a variety of circumstances. People may

relocate inside their own nation or to another nation for economic or familial reasons, and even
while residing in familiar surroundings or traveling, they may still have health requirements that
are unmet and may leave them open to exploitation or violence. The risk and susceptibility are
much higher when there is an armed conflict or persecution.
One of the most intricate and persistent humanitarian crises in the world continues to be in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a key country in Africa. In the eastern region of the
nation, notably in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where the government has proclaimed a
state of siege, armed violence persists unabatedly. The largest number of people in Africa are
still displaced—nearly 5.5 million. There were reportedly 1.5 million evictions in 2021 alone. [4]

The wellbeing of many migrants and the supply of shelter, food, and water, as well as medical
treatment, face enormous limitations because of their massive and unexpected occupation. There
is a lot of evidence to support the various and serious health risks that migrants, refugees, and
asylum seekers suffer. Employers and host country governments must pay greater attention to
encouraging physical activities or exercise and healthcare supply since migrant employees who
have come globally, especially from Africa are at danger of industrial accidents and illness if
their overall health status is not at the optimum level.

Estonia has developed into a multiethnic nation where events surrounding the rise and fall of the
former Soviet Union has had an impact on the kind of migrants it is currently enjoying. Despite
the fact that roughly 50% of new arrivals are typically returning Estonian residents, the number
of foreigners moving to Estonia in any given year is significantly larger than the number of
Estonians leaving. [Eurostat, 2022]

Additionally, 155,262 third country nationals (TCNs) were permanent residents around 2020,
while 32,322 held valid temporary residence permits, according to Statistics Estonia and the
Police and Border Guard Board. The majority of them were from the nearby former Soviet
Union nations of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Out of the 4,710 new residence permits issued in
2020, 41% were issued for family-related reasons, 44% for employment-related reasons, 11% for
educational purposes, and 4% for other purposes. People with uncertain citizenship make up
almost 6% of the TCN population in Estonia (or 69,009 individuals in 2020). More over 350,000
Estonian citizens were born abroad. 909 people became citizens through naturalization in 2019
and another 938 did so in 2020. [7]

Foreigners' integration into the nation is viewed as a social process that affects many aspects of
daily life. The country's integration policy has established culture, language, education, and most
recently, media and labor inclusion, as its cornerstones. [Eurostat, 2022]
Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that the overall wellbeing of these individuals do not suffer
any form of mishap since they can be a huge asset to the growth and development of any nation
if given the necessary tools and environment to blossom.

According to epidemiological studies, both hot and cold temperatures are equally associated with
a rise in health issues and fatality rates. Hot and cold temperatures, however, seem to affect
permanent life expectancies differently. The rise in mortality following excessive heat appears to
be primarily driven by near-term displacement, but the increase in mortality following extreme
cold is longer lasting, despite the fact that both extreme heat and extreme cold result in rapid
increases in mortality. [(Stafoggia et al., 2009; Michelozzi et al., 2006; Analitis et al., 2008;
Carder et al., 2005; Donaldson and Keatings, 2003]

In essence, some researchers claim that while wellbeing is altered by excessive heat changes (i.e
worsening the health of those who are already frail and would have died even without the shock),
the overall number of fatalities over a longer period of time is unaffected. [Guo et al., 2011;
Deschenes and Moretti, 2009; Huang et al., 2012] you can also peruse [Guo et al., 2014] for a
differing perspective.

These do not in any way negate the assertion that any increase in physical activity within the
same time period might have improved the odds of those affected.

Kysely and Nayha noted that hypothermia and the transient immune system suppression that
increases susceptibility to colds and flu are not always the direct causes of the health issues and
increased mortality linked to extreme weather conditions. Instead, they may be the consequence
of several indirect reasons, such as recurring conditions like respiratory and cardiovascular
disorders that may be brought on by the body's physiological response to the temperature shift.
[Kysely et al., 2009; Nayha, 2005]

The variation in temperature that immigrants go through when they migrate is just as significant
to their health as the actual temperatures of the host country, so it is critical for them to pay
greater attention to their level of physical activity so as to combat the negative effects of this
temperature variation.
For people who have previously lived in a substantially hot areas, the physiological risks of
frigid winters and little sunlight may be very apparent.

One difficulty is connected to low vitamin D levels, so Canadian doctors and nutritionists advise
migrants in such conditions to also take Vitamin-D supplements while going about their normal
physical activities [Huff, 2010]

It became necessary to conduct this research due to the high level of mortality observed amongst
African migrants who are simply unable to adjust to the extremely low weather conditions and it
could even serve as a springboard for further scientific and technological research interests such
as better hazard protection gear designs for Africans in extreme low weather conditions.

This research also aims to determine what exactly is the impact of physical activity on the
wellbeing of African migrants in Estonia?

What are the relevant factors that determine the extent of this impact?

Should the Estonian government actively promote physical activity amongst African migrants as
a proven way of improving their overall wellbeing so they can better contribute to the local
economy?
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