It’s the day after Thanksgiving. It’s a good time to remind ourselves of the benefits of a healthy diet and physical activity. Today, I am discussing the latter. Perhaps with few exceptions, we can all benefit from some form of activity. For some, this is easy and is already part of their lives. For others, it may be difficult. We all see the headlines about the benefits of activity, and they can be confusing as to exactly what we should be doing.
Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits New York Times October 21, 2023
Even 4000 Steps a Day Can Have Big Health Benefits New York Times August 9, 2023
Not enough time to walk 10,000 steps? Here are two alternatives that are just as beneficial, studies say ABC News October 23, 2023
Where should you begin? A good place to start would be to check out the CDC’s Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s (ODPHP) Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. It offers evidence-based information on how physical activity can improve health and lower the risk of chronic disease for Americans ages 3 and older.
These guidelines were based on the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report which examined the scientific literature, especially articles published in the 10 years since the publication of the 2008 Scientific Report. The new report either confirmed, expanded, or modified the recommendations of the 2008 Report. The 2018 Report was based on detailed searches of the scientific literature, evaluation of the quality of the findings, and conclusions based on the evidence as a whole.
The report describes three types of activity.
Aerobic - Activity in which the body’s large muscles move recurrently for a sustained period. This includes brisk walking, running/jogging, swimming, and bicycling
Muscle-Strengthening - Activity that increases muscle strength, power, endurance, and mass. This includes lifting weights, using resistance bands, bodyweight exercises, carrying heavy loads, and heavy gardening.
Bone-Strengthening (also known as weight bearing or weight-loading) - Activity that produces an impact or tension on the bones that promotes bone growth and strength. This includes running, jumping rope, and lifting weights.
It also divides physical activity into four levels of intensity.
Sedentary activity includes sitting, reclining, or lying down.
Light intensity activity includes walking at a leisurely pace or standing in line at the store.
Moderate intensity activity includes walking briskly, vacuuming, or raking leaves.
Vigorous intensity activity includes walking very quickly, running, taking an aerobics class, or shoveling snow.
The report concludes that any activity will lower the risk of death from any cause but moderate to vigorous activity is best. Although some health benefits are immediate, most benefits are attained with at least 150-300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week.
Here is a figure depicting the relationship between physical activity, sitting time, and risk of death from any cause.
The report also concluded that physical activity for adults lowers the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, cardiovascular disease (including heart disease and stroke), hypertension, type 2 diabetes, adverse blood lipid profile, cancer (bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach), dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), anxiety, depression, weight gain, and falls and fall-related injuries Physical activity also improves cognition, quality of life, sleep, bone health, and physical function.
The costs of physical inactivity were estimated to be $117 billion dollars in annual healthcare costs. Physical inactivity was also estimated to account for 10 percent of premature mortality.
Here is an infographic from the CDC campaign, Move Your Way, to promote physical activity.
What seems to work to increase physical activity? For individuals or small groups, it could be guidance from peers or professionals such as a trainer, support from others such as buddy systems or walking or running groups, or technology such as pedometers, smartphones, or watches. For communities, it could be point of decision prompts such as a sign that suggests taking the stairs; school policies and practices such as physical education classes; access to indoor or outdoor recreation facilities, such as gyms or parks; community-wide campaigns such as promoting walking trails; or community design such as locating schools or shopping with walking distances.
Strategies to promote physical activity can come from many sectors at all levels. Here is an infographic to highlight this.
In 2018, the World Health Organization also produced a report, “More Active People for A Healthier World” based on its global action plan on physical activity for 2018–2030. The plan was to promote physical activity and to establish a practical and achievable set of policy measures to enhance physical activity at all levels.
Since the 2018 report, further studies have been reported that address physical activity and depression (it lowers the risk), taking the stairs as a good way to include physical activity in your life, and the benefits of short bursts of activity, such as 20 to 25 minutes per day of vigorous movement like walking briskly, jogging, or cycling.
The bottom line is exercise serves as prevention for a host of life’s ills. So, let’s get physical.