Years ago during an American Council on Exercise conference, I was amused to find many of my colleagues riding escalators and shunning the adjacent set of stairs at the conference venue. After opening day, an exercise researcher placed a large sign at the base of an escalator that read, “Be A Role Model, Use The Stairs!” That point-of-decision prompt was all it took to get the majority of conference attendees off the escalator and onto the stairs...
As a species we must have begun thinking about how to walk less sometime soon after evolving from four-legged locomotion to bipedalism. We’ve become predominantly sedentary within the last several hundred years which is an incredibly short time frame compared to the millions of years that transpired between moving on all fours to walking upright. In order to thrive, we need to move more and sit less. Reincorporating the recommended physical activity pattern will be challenging for most of us and I'm just hoping it won't take centuries to accomplish.
In my Take a Stand blog post, I discussed the importance of standing and moving more while sitting less. Research continues to emerge that stresses the importance of getting out of your chair at regular intervals and moving throughout the day. Among middle-aged and older adult women, sitting for at least 10 hours a day raised the risk of heart attack and stroke compared to those who sat less than 5 hours a day. In addition to being more physically active, we need prompt ourselves to sit less. Interrupting sedentary behavior every 30 minutes with brief activity breaks (i.e., 1 minute and 30 seconds) may lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease in healthy, normal-weight adults.
It will take a bit of reverse engineering to move away from the labor-saving advances we’ve made during the last century to save ourselves from the deleterious physical consequences of inactivity. Until then, each morning we can ask ourselves, “How can I be more active today?” and use current sedentary behaviors as cues to move more throughout the day:
In my Take a Stand blog post, I discussed the importance of standing and moving more while sitting less. Research continues to emerge that stresses the importance of getting out of your chair at regular intervals and moving throughout the day. Among middle-aged and older adult women, sitting for at least 10 hours a day raised the risk of heart attack and stroke compared to those who sat less than 5 hours a day. In addition to being more physically active, we need prompt ourselves to sit less. Interrupting sedentary behavior every 30 minutes with brief activity breaks (i.e., 1 minute and 30 seconds) may lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease in healthy, normal-weight adults.
It will take a bit of reverse engineering to move away from the labor-saving advances we’ve made during the last century to save ourselves from the deleterious physical consequences of inactivity. Until then, each morning we can ask ourselves, “How can I be more active today?” and use current sedentary behaviors as cues to move more throughout the day:
| Old Sedentary Behavior Making piles of stuff at the bottom of the steps for one big trip upstairs Taking elevators, escalators and moving ramps Circling the parking lot for the closest space Commuting the same way to work every day Taking the car for a trip less than 1 mile Getting angry at your spouse, kids or, roommate for not cleaning up, putting out the trash, etc Using the remote control and vegging out in front of the T.V Spending hours at your desk or computer Sitting during your kid's entire game or practice Paying someone to do the yard and/or housework Having long conversations tied to an office telephone Sitting during long business meetings and conferences Resolving family and/or business conflicts through face to face meetings | New Active Behavior Be inefficient and take as many flights of stairs as possible throughout the day. Walk the whole distance or, get off a few floors early and use the stairs. Park farther away - where people with new cars park! Take the bus or subway and get off a few stops early to walk the extra distance. Plan ahead and walk or, bike instead. It takes a 5 year old about 20" to walk a 1/2 mile. Be thankful for being given the opportunity to move more and do the work yourself. Hide the remote and move during the commercial breaks with stretches or strength training exercises. Set a timer every 30-45" and get up to take a brief walking or stretching break. Keep a pair of spare sneakers in the car and walk at least part of the time. Do the work yourself or use the time saved to do a physical activity you enjoy. Use a cordless headset or cell phone and move more during the call. Use the breaks for an invigorating walk around the building (inside or out). Ask the person to take a walk with you. Walking side by side eliminates eye contact and may make discussions easier. |
Be Well,
Mary
August 14, 2013 Update: Here are some additional studies that support the need to move more and sit less…
British researchers examined the associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity with markers of cardiometabolic health and found that among people with equal levels of exercise or excess weight, those who sat the longest had higher blood sugar levels.
The British researchers also examined the association of sitting time and physical activity with chronic kidney disease and found that middle-aged adults who sat for more than 8 hours a day had a higher risk of kidney disease compared to those who sat less than 3 hours daily. The study suggests that higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sitting time are associated with lower chronic kidney disease levels independent of each other and other risk factors. Results may vary by gender though, with sitting time a more important factor among women and physical activity more the important factor for men.
Australian researchers found that, independent of physical activity, body mass index, and other variables, sitting time was significantly associated with diabetes and overall chronic disease in a sample of middle-aged men. Those who sat 6-7 hours per day were 15% more likely to have diabetes than those who sat less than 4 hours per day and men who sat 8 or more hours a day were 20% more likely to have diabetes.
P.S. Please ignore the text box below; your comments are always welcome here.
Mary
August 14, 2013 Update: Here are some additional studies that support the need to move more and sit less…
British researchers examined the associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity with markers of cardiometabolic health and found that among people with equal levels of exercise or excess weight, those who sat the longest had higher blood sugar levels.
The British researchers also examined the association of sitting time and physical activity with chronic kidney disease and found that middle-aged adults who sat for more than 8 hours a day had a higher risk of kidney disease compared to those who sat less than 3 hours daily. The study suggests that higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sitting time are associated with lower chronic kidney disease levels independent of each other and other risk factors. Results may vary by gender though, with sitting time a more important factor among women and physical activity more the important factor for men.
Australian researchers found that, independent of physical activity, body mass index, and other variables, sitting time was significantly associated with diabetes and overall chronic disease in a sample of middle-aged men. Those who sat 6-7 hours per day were 15% more likely to have diabetes than those who sat less than 4 hours per day and men who sat 8 or more hours a day were 20% more likely to have diabetes.
P.S. Please ignore the text box below; your comments are always welcome here.
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