Study Urges Seniors to Get Moving to Live Longer
A new study suggests that the most important benchmark for life longevity may be staying active and keeping fit.
The study tested 6500 people over the age of 70 by measuring their exercise limits on a treadmill or biking machine. Participants were tracked for 10 years, with 39% passing away by the end of the study.
Researchers found the participants who were active and fit, were twice as likely to be alive a decade later.
Participants with no risk factors had about the same chance of dying as those with three or more risk factors, according to the study, though researchers only found an association between fitness and life span.
“We found fitness is an extremely strong risk predictor of survival in the older age group — that is, regardless of whether you are otherwise healthy or have cardiovascular risk factors, being more fit means you’re more likely to live longer than someone who is less fit,” said lead author Dr. Seamus Whelton.
Researchers stress the importance of staying fit. Fitness can be measured using a treadmill or a biking machine. However, educators can also assess fitness by a self-report of a person’s physical activities as well.
The researchers believe that participants who are sedentary would benefit from beginning a routine of short exercises, but encourage movement newbies to check with their provider first.
To learn more: Study Urges Seniors to Get Moving to Live Longer – HealthyDay.
See our Exercise Resource Page for a bunch of wonderful handouts and movement ideas.
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[yikes-mailchimp form=”1″]Don’t like exercise? – High-intensity incidental physical activity is HIIT
The commonly held wisdom is that activity had to last for at least ten continuous minutes to be beneficial, although there was no credible scientific evidence to support this.
New evidence, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, shows regular, incidental activity that gets you huffing and puffing is likely to produce health benefits, even if you do it in 30-second bursts, spread over the day.
Incorporating more “high-intensity incidental physical activity” or HIIT, whether by vigorously sweeping the floor or carrying groceries, could be the key to getting high quality exercise each day. Even if this incidental physical activity only lasts for a few minutes, it can result in significant health benefits. In this study, simply by adding more incidental activity, described as, “any activity that is part of one’s daily living that is not done with the purpose of recreation or health and requires no discretionary time” improved overall health.
Some examples of HIIT may include walking or cycling to the grocery store, performing daily chores with intensity, or using the stairs instead of the elevator. This kind of activity prevents far fewer barriers than the concept of “exercising” which is physical activity that is both structured and planned. This study answers the question of how incidental physical activity can be maximized to improve health conditions.
The length of time for incidental PA can vary and is not structured. It can be just a few seconds such as climbing the stairs, “or several minutes or even hours of active commuting.”
This focus on short bursts throughout the day, offers the opportunity to incorporate vigorous physical activity into a busy lifestyle while receiving major health benefits. Incidental vigorous physical activity has been shown to be synonymous with partaking in exercise lasting 20-30 minutes.
These new research has,”opened new horizons for physical activity and exercise medicine practice by recognizing that any bout of physical activity count toward better health.” It is highly recommended to work on incorporating a short bout of HIIT to experience numerous health advantages and outcomes.
To learn more: THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF EXERCISE ISN’T “EXERCISE” AT ALL – Quarizy
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Mindful Monday | Want success? Start with exercise first
The idea of a “lifestyle” overhaul can be intimidating. Getting healthier includes so many variables such as healthy
eating, exercise, better sleep and reduced stress. A recent study suggests that developing an exercise routine first results in a preference for healthier foods.
A study published by the International Journal of Obesity, concluded that starting an exercise routine often leads to healthier food choices. Instead of taking something away, you can add a physical activity. The researchers recruited 2500 college students who said they did not diet or exercise for more than 30 minutes a week. They were asked not to change their eating habits.
However, many of the exercise participants changed their eating habits without being told to. The 2000 who stuck with the exercise plan, were more likely to eat more nutritious foods and less “junk” food. The more a participant exercised, the more their diet improved.
“Longer exercise duration was associated with a decrease in preference for foods characteristic of the standard western diet, such as red meat, fried foods and snack foods. Meanwhile, high-intensity exercise was associated with an increase in preference for healthy foods. Overall, Bray says, this means “compliance with the exercise program was associated with a move toward eating healthier overall.”
The diet didn’t delve deeper into why exercise fuels healthy eating, but likely biology and psychology are responsible.
However, scientists believe there is something more “I really do think exercise is altering neural processing in your brain. The stimulation of your brain that occurs with high-intensity exercise is what changes lots of things about your body,” Bray says.
To learn more: Exercising Might Help You Make Healthier Food Choices, Study Says – Time
To get started, see our Exercise Resource Page
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“Most U.S. kids not meeting sleep, exercise and screen time targets”
A new study suggests that only 1 out of every 20 teens in America is getting the physician recommended amount of sleep, exercise and screen time (time spent on devices).
The recommended amount of exercise for a teenager is 1 hour of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. Screen time should be limited to 2 hours per day. “Kids ages 6 to 12 old also need 9 to 12 hours of sleep, while teens need 8 to 10 hours nightly.”
The study concluded that too little sleep and exercise and too much screen time can lead to chronic health issues such as obesity, mental health problems, poor academic performance and unhealthy behavior such as smoking and drinking.
However, these recommendations have been increasingly difficult for children and teenagers to meet. Similar to adults, it can be hard to meet all three requirements at the same time, versus focusing on one.
For the study, 59,000 kids were surveyed over four years. “Overall, just 3 percent of girls and 7 percent of boys spent the optimal time sleeping and being physically active while limiting screen time.”
The three factors seem to support each other. More exercise led to better sleep and less screen time. However, less exercise led to more screen time and less sleep.
The study urges parents to encourage their children to engage in physical activity that can help with sleep patterns. Schools also impact sleep due to early start times.
“Sleep and physical activity are two pillars that should not be sacrificed in childhood,” said Jonathan Mitchell of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Sleep is often sacrificed for other activities including spending time on cell phones, computers and watching TV. Teens and parents should be more cognizant of bedtime and focus on finding a balance between, sleep, exercise and screen time.
To learn more: Most U.S. kids not meeting sleep, exercise and screen time targets – Rueters
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Mindful Monday | Exercise does help prevent depression
An international study has found a strong link between exercise and depression.
Commonly, exercise has been thought to prevent depression, but a study of the genetics of 300,000 people has now confirmed that a lack of exercise can lead to depression.
Past studies have shown a link between lack of exercise and depression, however this is the first study to say that lack of exercise may cause depression. And it is often assumed that depression is a barrier to exercise.
“However, this new work by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital, US, shows a causal link between exercising and avoiding depression, and also shows that the opposite is not true – being depressed does not cause people to exercise less.”
The study used data from self-reported activity and accelerometers (motion detecting devices). The self-reported activities were somewhat inaccurate, however the accelerators collected helpful data to support their hypothesis.
“With accelerometer data, the researchers found that replacing sedentary behavior with just 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity, like running, or an hour of moderate activity, like fast walking, reduces depression risk by 26%.”
Researchers hope to utilize this data in promoting the role physical health can take on mental health. From a biological perspective, physical activity is linked to releasing “feel-good” hormones and can help with a person’s mood and can also help with other illness linked to depression like inflammation. Of course from a psychological perspective being “active” can help combat common depression symptoms like feels of isolation and void of meaning.
Depression affects more than 300 million people around the globe. Mental health is just as important as physical health and exercising is a way to improve both!
Please enjoy our Exercise Resource
To learn more: “Exercise does help prevent depression, research shows” – COSMOS The Science of Everything
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“How endurance exercise affects your gut bacteria”
New studies continue to link physical exercise to the diversity in gut bacteria. One of the most powerful discoveries is that exercise alone has the ability to change your gut microbiome. A new study at the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Turku in Finland, examines the correlation between endurance exercise and bacteria.
Researchers found that exercise can boost the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This bacteria helps with inflammation and keeping your get healthy.
The study enrolled 17 women who lived sedentary lifestyles, but were other wise healthy, into a 6-week program of bicycle endurance training. They did not change anything about their diet during this program.
“Overall, at the end of the program, the researchers found a decrease in so-called proteobacteria — that is, gut bacteria that have the potential of causing inflammation — and an increase in beneficial bacteria called Akkermansia, which have links with a better metabolism.”
Previous studies have found the bacteria Akkermansia was more commonly found in people who are physically active and may even protect individuals from diabetes and obesity.
The exercise also had an effect on cardio metabolic health. “We found that phospholipids and cholesterol in VLDL [very low-density lipoprotein] particles decreased in response to exercise. These changes are beneficial for cardiometabolic health,” Pekkala explains, “because VLDL transports lipids from the liver to peripheral tissues, converts into ‘bad’ LDL [low-density lipoprotein] cholesterol in the circulation, and thus has detrimental cardiovascular effects.”
The scientists believe that if the training program continued, they would have seen greater effects on the participants gut bacteria and overall health.
To learn more: “How endurance exercise affects your gut bacteria” – MedicalNewsToday
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Mindful Monday | Exercise Habits That Stick
It’s that time of year where people are flooding into gyms to start working on their new years resolutions. However, researchers have found that most people tend to give up on their resolutions by February. How can you bridge the divide between intention and doing?
Here are some tips to help turn 2019 resolutions into long-lasting habits and to get past the February funk:
- Give it time. It takes a while for something new to become habitual. A study conducted at Wharton School paid a group of individuals to exercise for a period of 28 days. They found that most of these people stuck with these habits after the study was over. Milkman, the head researcher on the study, states, “The key to habit is repetition. If you can get that repetition going while you have high motivation, you are much more likely to have a behavior change that lasts.”
- Set realistic goals. Make sure that the goals you set are small, incremental, and achievable. Many individuals tend to set unrealistic goals and then give up on the whole thing when they are unable to achieve them.
- Make physical activity social. Tackling fitness goals with another individual tends to increase productivity as well as longevity. So grab a friend and work on your goals together!
- Change the mindset. Many people start their fitness journey with only one goal: weight loss. While it is okay to have a goal like this, don’t let it be the driving force. Instead, choose performance based goals. For example, try to improve on your mile time, squat more weight than you did last time, or try to finally be able to do the splits. With these kinds of goals, the aesthetics will still be achieved but your attitude and love towards working out will drastically change.
For more information on this topic, check out the article “How to make exercise a habit that sticks.”
Contributed by: Sofia Sepulveda
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Boost Your Memory – Get Moving
A study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has found that short bouts of exercise might not only be linked to decreased risk of chronic diseases, but increased memory as well.
This particular study involved 36 young men and women who all achieved adequate health status. Each subject was asked to participate in ten minutes of relaxed cycling on a stationary bike. All participants were then asked to undergo memory testing directly following physical activity.
Sixteen of the participants’ brain scans demonstrated a trigger of communication between the hippocampus and cortical brain regions directly following exercise. This particular piece of information is interesting considering both of these regions play a key role in processing memories.
The length of the time that this trigger occurs is not yet known though the lead scientist on the study has reason to believe that it may last at least 15 minutes.
For more information on exercise and improved memory, visit short bout of exercise might boost your memory.
Contributed By: Sofia Sepulveda
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