March 2023 Health Newsletter

According to research, those who spend more time sitting and being sedentary as compared with those who are active and moving around are more likely to die from any cause. Data from the study also indicates that this holds true even for those individuals who obtain adequate amounts of exercise. It appears that even for those who exercise regularly, sitting or reclining excessively on a regular basis is simply bad for your health. In evaluating more than 200,000 adults aged 45 and older, those who reported sitting for 11 or more hours per day were 40 percent more likely to die during the study than those sitting less than 4 hours per day. Walking and moving around removes blood glucose and fats circulating in the blood stream whereas sitting is far less effective at accomplishing this. Researchers recommend frequent "get up and move around" breaks throughout the day for those who must sit for long periods of time, especially those working a desk job. In other words, move to live!

In a finding that should come as a surprise to no one, a U.S. study concluded that physically fit 50 year olds suffered less from chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer, as they aged. The study of over 18,600 men and women, linked treadmill tests, done at the age of 50 and meant to establish cardiovascular health, to an additional 26 years of Medicare claims. Men in the lowest fifth of fitness scores in the initial evaluation experienced a rate of chronic disease of 28 percent per year. In contrast, the the rate of the top fifth was 16 percent per year. In women, the rates were 20 percent and 11 percent. Currently, national guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week. While the findings do not prove that exercise cuts the risk of chronic disease, it does appear that it makes a difference as we age. However, researchers added that the study did not take into account genetic and environmental factors which may affect the chronic disease rates.