Move for Your Health En españolSend us your comments Had an exhausting day? Think you deserve to kick back and relax? You might want to think again. If you’re like most people nationwide, you’ve spent more than half of your waking hours sitting or inactive for long stretches of time—at work, at school, in the car or watching TV or another type of screen. Maybe it’s time to try standing up instead of putting your feet up. Scientists estimate that Americans ages 12 and up now spend most of their time—about 8 to 10 hours a day—sitting and doing things that require little energy. The groups who sit the most are teens and older adults. What’s so bad about sitting? Sedentary behavior—which usually means sitting or lying down while awake—has been linked to a shorter lifespan and a wide range of medical problems. Studies have found that any time you get up and move, you’re improving your chances for good health. “Some of us are sort of forced into sedentary lifestyles by our jobs, by school or by commuting,” says Dr. Donna Spruijt-Metz, who studies childhood obesity at the University of Southern California. “But research suggests that breaking up sedentary time with even short bouts of activity—like getting up from your desk and moving around—is associated with smaller waist circumference and other indictors of good health.” When you’re upright and active, even briefly, your body is at work. “You’re engaging a wide range of systems in your body when you move throughout your day,” says Dr. Charles E. Matthews, who studies physical activity and cancer risk at NIH. “Your muscles are contracting, you’re maintaining your balance, and you’re resisting the force of gravity.” When you’re sitting, Matthews says, “muscle contractions go way down, and your body’s resistance to gravity decreases.” When you sit for long periods, your body adapts to the reduced physical demand and slows down its metabolismChemical changes within the body that create the energy and substances you need to grow, move and maintain your health.. When metabolism slows, you burn fewer calories and boost the chance that extra energy will be stored as fat. The best way to raise your metabolism is simply by moving. The more you move, the better. A new study led by NIH’s Dr. Steven Moore looked at data on more than 650,000 adults, mostly age 40 and older. The researchers found that leisure-time physical activity was linked to a longer life expectancy, regardless of how much people weighed. “We found that even a low level of physical activity—equivalent to about 10 minutes a day of walking—was associated with a gain of almost 2 years in life expectancy. High levels of activity—equivalent to about 45 minutes a day of walking—were associated with a gain of 4 years or more,” says Moore. The outcomes weren’t so positive for those who were both overweight and did no exercise. “People who were obese and inactive lost about 7 years of life compared to normal weight people who were active,” Moore says. The many benefits of moderate to vigorous activity have been much studied. Moderate to vigorous exercise gets your heart pumping and boosts blood levels of “good” cholesterol. Moving at moderate to vigorous intensity also strengthens your bones and muscles and lessens your risk for a wide range of health problems, including stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis and arthritis. That’s why the experts recommend that adults aim to exercise at least 2 and a half hours a week at moderate intensity or 75 minutes a week at a vigorous level. You might exercise at moderate intensity for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, or try 45 to 60 minutes, 3 days a week. If your goal is to exercise for a half hour a day, you might break that up into shorter periods (of at least 10 minutes at a time) that add up to 30 minutes. Although the benefits of intense activity are clear, less is known about the long-term impact of sedentary behavior. Since most people engage in a range of activities throughout each day, it can be challenging to tease apart the effects that sitting and non-exercise activity can have over time. An NIH-funded study by Matthews and colleagues found that extended periods of sitting might take a toll on your lifespan even if you exercise. The decade-long study looked at more than 240,000 adults. “Even those who were exercising a lot—7 or more hours per week—had an elevated risk for death from all causes or from cardiovascular disease if they also watched a large amount of TV (more than 7 hours per day),” says Matthews. “It suggests that a substantial amount of exercise may not always protect against the adverse effects of prolonged sitting.” “Sedentary behavior is not simply the opposite of physical activity,” says Dr. John Jakicic, who studies the biology of exercise at the University of Pittsburgh. “It’s not as if you’re either sitting and doing nothing or you’re physically active. There’s a gray zone that includes light activity,” such as standing up, casual walking or grocery shopping. Scientists have had difficulty accurately monitoring how long and at what intensity people are actually moving each day. More than a decade ago, most studies of everyday activity relied on self-reports—like questionnaires or diaries of physical activity—which can be inaccurate. Today, mobile technologies—such as smart phone apps and electronic activity monitors—are helping scientists gather better data. Study participants wear these small devices all day long. They provide data on what people are actually doing as they move throughout their day. “Is it really the sedentary behavior that causes harm? Or is it the lack of physical activity at the right intensity that’s the problem? I don’t think we have the answers yet,” says Jakicic. With the help of new technologies, Jakicic and others are working toward answers. “Based on findings we’ve seen in several studies to date, I think it’s a combination of lower levels of sedentary behavior and higher levels of activity that provide the most benefit,” says Matthews. “You can alter your routine just a little bit every day so you’ll move more and sit less,” says Spruijt-Metz. “Don’t use the phone or email if you can take a walk and talk to someone in person. Get yourself a step-counter and try to get in 10,000 steps a day. There are many ways to add movement without going to the gym.” The bottom line is, look for opportunities to be active throughout your day. Get moving as much as you can! Leading a sedentary lifestyle is becoming a significant public health issue. Sedentary lifestyles appear to be increasingly widespread in many nations despite being linked to a range of chronic health conditions. Most people living a sedentary lifestyle are unlikely to be meeting the national physical activity guidelines. According to the government’s 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. A 2017 paper by the Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN) defined sedentary behavior as any activity involving sitting, reclining, or lying down that has a very low energy expenditure. The measurement for energy expenditure is metabolic equivalents (METs), and the authors consider activities that expend 1.5 METs or less of energy to be sedentary. Research suggests that only 21 percent of adults are meeting the physical activity guidelines, while less than 5 percent perform 30 minutes of physical activity per day. Share on PinterestA sedentary lifestyle can contribute to obesity, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Recent research is starting to confirm the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Studies have now consistently demonstrated that leading a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to:
Extended periods of inactivity can reduce metabolism and impair the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels, regulate blood pressure, and break down fat. One study analyzed data collected over 15 years and found that sedentary lifestyles were associated with an increased risk of early death regardless of physical activity levels. This shows that it is essential to reduce the amount of time spent being sedentary in addition to doing more exercise. A sedentary lifestyle also appears to have a negative impact on mental well-being. The combination of the physical and mental impact to health makes a sedentary lifestyle particularly problematic. One study with 10,381 participants associated a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity with a higher risk of developing a mental health disorder. A recent review that included data from 110,152 participants found a link between sedentary behavior and an increased risk of depression. A more active lifestyle can significantly reduce the chances of chronic health conditions, mental health disorders, and premature death. Increasing physical activityResearch has shown that physical activity, including exercise and sports, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and early death. Evidence also consistently shows that exercise can improve mental health. A 2018 study of 1,237,194 people found that those who exercised reported fewer mental health problems than those who did not. It is best to combine a variety of cardiovascular exercises, such as running or cycling, with strength-training exercises, which can include weight training or body-weight exercises. Going for at least three 30-minute runs and doing two 30-minute sessions of strength-training exercises per week would be sufficient to meet the minimum physical activity guidelines. Reducing the time spent being sedentaryShare on PinterestPartaking in regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Physical activity is important, but spending the majority of the day being sedentary is still dangerous. People can reduce the amount of time they spend being sedentary by:
Research has linked a sedentary lifestyle to severe health conditions. Many people do not meet the minimum physical activity guidelines and are at risk of developing health issues from spending too much time being sedentary. People can reduce the risks of a sedentary lifestyle by increasing the amount of physical activity that they do and using the techniques above to reduce the time they spend being sedentary. |