2 October 2008
I've been thinking about healthy living and how much emphasis we nutritionists put on eating habits as opposed to physical activity. Do nutritionists focus too much on food, to the exclusion of exercise? Does it really matter if we do place exercise down the priority list? Is it our job to talk about exercise and motivate people to get off the couch, away from the computer and out the door with walking shoes on? Or should someone other than nutritionists be doing this? The more I looked into the topic the more I realised myself how important physical activity is... here are some exciting research developments that reinforce the need for us to put down our remote controls, mobile phones, x-boxes and get off the couch and out that door - myself included!
Amish Active Lifestyle Beats the Bulge
Overweight and obesity are so prevalent in this day and age, according to the World Health Organisation over 200 million adults worldwide were obese in 1995 and that number rose to over 300 million obese adults by 2000. Most of us have struggled at one time or another with our weight, still are struggling or have a friend or family member in that predicament. Exercise or diet - which is better at beating the bulge? An interesting study involving the Old Order Amish in the United States of America has shed some interesting light on this topic! Remember the Amish people hit the spotlight in 1985 with the release of the movie 'Witness' starring Harrison Ford as a policeman and Kelly McGillis as an Amish woman whose young son was the only witness to a murder. Hollywood movies aside; the Amish people are members of a strict Christian denomination that shun most modern conveniences, instead living a simple life that involves considerably more physical activity than the average westerner.
University of Maryland researchers investigated whether known gene variants associated with a tendency to overweight and obesity in the general population were associated with an increased body mass index (BMI) in Old Order Amish people, many of whom have physically demanding jobs such as farming, blacksmithing or carpentry which they perform without any modern conveniences (view PubMed abstract). Dr Soren Snitker and his co-researchers found that Amish men and women with a high level of physical activity (burning 900 kcals more than their peers) who possessed the genetic variants that predispose to weight gain were no more likely to be overweight than physically active Amish adults without genetic predisposition to weight gain. Burning 900kcals of extra energy equated to about 3 to 4 hours of brisk walking, house cleaning or gardening. The researchers concluded that a high level of physical activity levelled the genetic playing field and reinforces the important role that physical activity plays in combatting obesity. Their full results are published in the September 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. (Check out the University of Maryland press release).
Still Not Keen to Plow Fields?
"All very well", I hear you say, "but I don't have any fields to plow and don't plan on giving up electricity or running water any time soon". And I do hear you - I'm rather fond of my dishwasher, microwave and washing machine. And I also don't see myself getting the old washing board and tub out to wash the bed sheets or towels any time soon! Read on...
- Regular moderate exercise can reduce feelings of bloating and the constipation associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) that around 30% of the population are believed to suffer from. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week was enough to significantly reduce IBS symptoms in a group of IBS patients, according to the September 2008 issue, International Journal of Sports Medicine.
- Physical activity may also reduce the risk of a range of cancers according to a Japanese study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The longitudinal study followed over 79,000 Japanese men and women from 1995 through until 2004. They found that the most active men were 13% less likely than the least active men to develop cancer, for women the effects were greater with a 16% reduction in cancer risk. Researchers defined physical activity as not just sports or leisure time activity but also walking, physical labour and even housework.
- Exercise reduces blood pressure - a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) revealed that over 70% of patients with high blood pressure saw a reduction in blood pressure when they increased their physical activity levels! Unfortunately, reports the study published in Ethnicity and Disease, two-thirds of US doctors don't talk to their patients about the importance of exercise when they're diagnosed with high blood pressure. Does the same occur in New Zealand? Email us your stories.
- Physical activity may help to protect against brain shrinkage in patients with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have found that those individuals who were most physically fit had less shrinkage in the hippocampus region of the brain, an area associated with Alzheimer's-related atrophy. Add this to previous research that shows exercising slows age-related changes to the brain in healthy people too. Most importantly, the US researchers say it's never too late to start exercising to gain these brain benefits.
Breaking Through the Exercise Barrier
Actually getting started exercising can be easier said than done. Rather than struggling alone trying to work out how to find time, motivation, money or whatever else, why not try these ideas?
- Aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week
- Walk at a moderate pace, rather than aim for intense exercise - walking at a moderate pace, several times a week will beat lower-frequency, high-intensity exercise efforts.
- Break your 30 minutes/day exercise goal into three 10 minute slots - fit one 10 minute walking slot in before work, one at lunch-time and one after dinner for example.
- Tell your friends, family and co-workers about your goal to exercise regularly - they can help to support and encourage you to exercise and you might even find an exercise buddy.
- Don't expect the mood benefits straight away (the fabled "runner's high") - you might not find the exercise enjoyable at first, but stick with it and over time you'll notice your body and moods change with exercise and you'll then find exercising enjoyable and a way to lift your mood!
I hit the pavements for my 5.2km walk/run/walk (if you know what I mean) this morning (37 minutes, 57 seconds, slower than last week's effort - but never mind). I figure with time the running bits will get longer and the walking sections shorter. Five minutes into this morning's experience I truly wanted to give up, turn around and go home. But, I stuck with it for another 5 minutes and I then found I got more focussed and by the end of it I was extremely puffed, very tired and a bit achey but also very proud of myself. You'll be proud of yourself too when you take that first step - go on, do it!
Jennifer's blog is produced without sponsorship or pay-offs by any of those big weight-loss companies. Time spent blogging, and running around the roads trying to get fit, is time not spent earning money to pay for electricity and running water and all those other modern conveniences that Amish people live without. If you'd like to help fund Jennifer's blogging please click here to make a contribution.
The material provided by Thinking Nutrition Ltd on this website is for information purposes only. It is not a substitute for appropriate health advice from a qualified medical practitioner.
