Sunday Reading

New Delhi, 24 November 2010

Say No To Sitting

WALK FOR LONG LIFE

By Suraj Saraf

Sitting for long hours invites health disaster while walking, and that too briskly, keeps the body and brain young. This is the crux of several studies conducted world over recently.

Whereby, hours spent on sitting on a chair could invite cardio-vascular disaster, said a recent USA study. Men who sit for 23 hours a week have a 64% greater chance of dying from cardio-vascular disease than those who spend only half that time, added the study.

Significantly, it highlighted that there is 11% increase risk of death from any cause for every extra hour of TV viewing. The American researchers found that lipoprotein lipases, a molecule that helps the body process fat is released only when the leg muscles are tensed, for instance when one is standing or walking. Clearly, implying that when one sits a crucial part of the metabolism slows down.

“Even if someone has a healthy weight, sitting for long periods still has an unhealthy influence on one’s blood sugar and blood fats,” added the study. This means you can run for an hour every morning but if you spend the rest of the day slumped on your seat, many of the health benefits are cancelled.

This is not all. The outcome is worse for women who sit for more than six hours a day. They are 37% more likely to die than those who sit for fewer than three hours, regardless of physical activity at other times. The equivalent figure for men is 18%.

In addition, any prolonged sedentary behaviour is likely to pose a risk to health. As a result, some doctors are called for a new recommendation to be added to the health advice that urges us to exercise and stand up more.

“If one stands up, one is far more likely to walk around.” Even standing still takes an effort. That’s because one tenses the leg muscles and uses the back muscles to keep oneself upright. And one tends to shift the weight from leg to leg. Also, when one stretches and fidgets while standing one burns 10 to 20 more energy than resting.

Another USA study in this respect stated that those who stand at work helps them stay focused. Avoiding a nap in the afternoon too helps them shed pounds. Interestingly, a physiologist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana discovered that when he prevented laboratory mice from standing up, the enzyme that burns fat got turned off which led to weight gain. “This enzyme is virtually shut off within hours of not standing, completely independent of diet, completely independent of weight changes. I think sitting is very dangerous”, he said.

A study showed that sitting for long stretches, more than six hours a day, can make someone at least 18% more likely to die from diabetes, heart disease and obesity than those sitting less than three hours a day. “Sitting has become the most common human behaviour, literally, it outstrips the amount of time we spend sleeping,” the study underscored.

Pertinently, sitting has become a new form of smoking which was once so common that people were reluctant to see the health hazard it posed. “Smoking and sitting too much have common and some striking parallels. Decades ago, smoking was so common that everyone perceived that it was not only acceptable behaviour but also there was safety in numbers.

However, experts stress different kinds of special exercises to keep fit. But not many people know that simple walking does wonders for both body and brain and help people keep young. In fact, researchers at the University of Illinois have highlighted that walking can boost the connectivity within the brain which tends to diminish as one grows old.

“Patterns of connectivity, in the brain decrease as we get older. Networks are not as well connected to support the things we do, such as living. But we found as a function of aerobic fitness, the networks become more coherent,” the research emphasized.  

The study had tracked 70 adults, between 60-80 years, over the course of a year. A toning, stretching, strengthening group served as a control against which to evaluate the previously sedentary walkers. It noted that individuals in the walking group, the aerobics training group, got by far the largest benefits.

Further, the research states, “We also measured the brain function using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the brain networks. It is akin to the old concept: If you do not use it, you lose it. In order for something to be beneficial we need to do it repetitively, and walking is a repetitive activity”.

Asserted Miller, a physical therapy professor at the Andrews University Michigan and author of Action Plan for Arthritis, “while some changes are inevitable with age, they don’t have to happen as quickly as they do in some people. We know the reaction time gets slower as we age, but activity is a big modifier. So if we do trip, we will be able to get that leg out and catch ourselves.”

Researchers at University College, London have found that people who walk fast are almost three time less likely to die early than those who walk slowly. And those with a strong grip are one-and-a-half-times more likely to live longer than people with a weak grip. So greet your friends with a firm handshake! Deduced by researchers after 33 researches involving more than 5000 men and women mostly over 70.

Another study suggests that simple physical tests could help doctors detect patients who are becoming frail, long before they become ill or have an accident. Moreover, today it might be possible to spot and help patients long before they suffer an injury, stressed the research.

Wherein, simple non-invasive assessment measures could help doctors identify those most vulnerable to poor health in later life and who might benefit from early intervention to keep them active for longer. “We think screening elderly people for such fundamental activities as walking, shaking hands or getting in and out of chair could be used as simple and inexpensive tool to monitor their health, the study endorsed for good measure.

At the same time however, the study called for more research in regard to elderly people to reduce morbidity and mortality. “Research that helps people enjoy a long and healthy life is ever more important to help cater for an ageing population,” the research accentuated. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)