http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150511/jsp/knowhow/story_19277.jsp
Do not sit still
Your Health - Dr. Gita Mathai
All age groups should exercise. The minimum recommended varies (depending on different agencies) from 30-40 minutes a day of aerobic activity, 10 minutes of stair climbing to walking at least 10,000 steps a day. At least 400 calories should be expended with each session of exercise. At least once a week, double that (800-1,000 calories) should ideally be used. Unless you are actually training for a sporting event, the exercise can be spaced out during the day and split into multiple sessions.
Despite assiduously following these recommendations, people are often not as fit as expected.
Sitting still at a desk means your lifestyle is sedentary, even if you go to the gym or run. It negates the effects of the activity that you have put in. It is almost as bad as smoking!
Sitting still at a desk means your lifestyle is sedentary, even if you go to the gym or run. It negates the effects of the activity that you have put in. It is almost as bad as smoking!
The enforced inactivity may be inadvertent in people because their jobs entail sitting down (IT professionals, bankers, corporate employees) or because television sets have gained a stranglehold on lifestyle. As the inactive lifestyle becomes habitual, it becomes easier to telephone co workers or do a computer chat rather than walk a few steps. Many buildings, flats and even private houses have lifts. Climbing up even one flight of steps becomes unnecessary and tedious. Even children may be encouraged to “sit down and watch television” rather than “run around being a nuisance.”
You not only need to exercise but also try to not be sedentary. It often poses a real challenge. Many fit CEOs internationally use the stairs (if they do not have time to go to the gym) even if it means climbing 14 floors in a hotel!
Sitting slows the metabolism. When we sit, the large skeletal muscles in the legs and back are very still. They do not utilise glucose, as they require very little energy to be still. This is why “fidgety” children do not gain weight, even if they eat more than their sedentary, TV-viewing counterparts.
Food eaten is not efficiently utilised. The blood sugars become elevated. The excess sugar is converted to fat. This accumulates in the blood and then gets deposited in other organs such as the liver (fatty liver) and heart. The blood pressure too starts to rise. The risk for diabetes, heart disease and death is elevated by nearly 100 per cent. In short, excessive sitting has strong associations with becoming obese, developing type 2 diabetes and premature death.
Physical activity throughout the day — even simple standing — increases the levels of the body’s own insulin. At the same time, it lowers the levels of biologically available sex hormones. This has a cascading effect and reduces the incidence of cancers of the uterus, ovary, breast and prostrate. The body’s overall immune system improves. This decreases the number of infections and shortens the time spent with illness. The body’s ability to cope is vastly improved.
Exercise has a plateau effect. Those who exercised a little more than an hour a day every day reduced their chance of premature death by 40 per cent. The reduction in mortality and health benefits did not increase at levels of exercise beyond this. The additional hours at the gym or training added no significant benefit unless they were training for competitions. The chances of injury on the other hand almost quadrupled. Everything has to be done in moderation.
Quick look
- The highest risk of early death is in people who do not exercise at all.
- Those who exercised for at least 150 minutes every week (the bare minimum recommended) reduced their risk of dying by 40 per cent compared with those who never exercised.
- Physical inactivity increased the risk of premature death by 7 per cent
- Frank obesity with a BMI greater than 30 increased the risk by 4 per cent. This statistic is independent of other risk factors like sex, education, smoking and alcohol intake.
Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in
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