Photo of Ipswich taken by M'reen
"Though the detail has come as an alarming surprise I can certainly
support this through personal experience. Interestingly, again, I’ve
started this morning with my stopwatch set for ½ hourly
get up and move
periods." M'reen
Study:
Prolonged sitting jeopardizes older women's health
by Ted Boscia
(Medical Xpress)—A human body at rest will remain at rest –
and that means health woes for older women. Led by Cornell nutritional scientist Rebecca Seguin, a new
study of some 93,000 postmenopausal American women found those with the highest
amounts of sedentary time – defined as
sitting and resting but excluding sleeping – died earlier than their most
active peers. The association remained even when controlling for physical
mobility and function, chronic disease status, demographic factors and overall
fitness – meaning that even habitual exercisers are at risk if they have high
amounts of idle time.
The paper, "Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older
Women," was published online Jan. 7 in the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine.
Seguin and co-authors found that women with more than 11
hours of daily sedentary time faced a 12 percent increase in all-cause
premature mortality compared with the most energetic group – those with four
hours or less of inactivity. The former group also upped their odds for death
due to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cancer by 13, 27
and 21 percent, respectively.
"The assumption has been that if you're fit and
physically active, that will protect you, even if you spend a huge amount of
time sitting each day," said Seguin, assistant professor of nutritional
sciences in the College of Human Ecology. "In fact, in doing so you are
far less protected from negative health effects of being
sedentary than you realize."
Worse still, Seguin said, excess sedentary time tends to
make it harder to regain physical strength and function. Women begin to lose
muscle mass at age 35, a change that accelerates with menopause. Regular
exercise, especially lifting weights and other muscular strength-building
exercises, helps to counteract these declines, but her research finds that more
everyday movement on top of working out is also important for maintaining
health.
"In general, a use it or lose it philosophy
applies," Seguin said. "We have a lot of modern conveniences and
technologies that, while making us more efficient, also lead to decreased
activity and diminished ability to do things. Women need to find ways to remain
active."
Starting in middle age and even younger, Seguin said, women
can adopt "small changes that make a big difference."
"If you're in an office, get up and move around
frequently," she said. "If you're retired and have more idle time,
find ways to move around inside and outside the house. Get up between TV
programs, take breaks in computer and reading time and be conscious of
interrupting prolonged sedentary time."
Though previous research has linked prolonged sedentary time
with poor health outcomes, the study by Seguin is one of the largest and most
ethnically diverse of its type. The women, ages 50-79 at the study's outset as part of the national Women's
Health Initiative Study, were followed over 12 or more years.
"Some earlier studies found a more dramatic effect on
mortality risk from sedentary time, and others are similar to our findings.
Collectively, this adds to the growing body of research linking inactivity to
poor health outcomes," said Seguin.
www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3949-stamped-010714.pdf
Perhaps you’d like to
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www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives
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www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com describes the steps to
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www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com just for fun
www.turbochargedreading.com
for your advanced reading techniques
To quote the Dr Seuss
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The more that you learn;
the more places you'll go.”
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