Replacing sedentary behavior, such as watching TV, with low-impact activities — such as standing or walking while cooking or doing laundry — increases your chances of healthy aging. And replacing some of the time spent sitting at work with simple activities like standing or walking around the office can improve health.
“These findings suggest that physical activity may not be at high intensity, which may benefit various aspects of health, with important public health implications, particularly in older adults who are limited in their ability to participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity.” Moline WangTH Chan, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and an author of the study, wrote in an email.
For the purposes of the study, healthy aging was defined as the absence of at least 70 major chronic diseases, and no impairment in the subject’s memory, physical activity, or mental health. The data, however, suggest that the link between light activity and healthy aging continues well into the 80s and 90s, Wang said.
Replace TV time with exercise or sleep
Researchers from A Nurses’ Health Study 45,176 women initiated 20 years ago. Respondents were asked questions like, “On average, how many hours per week do you spend standing or moving around the house?” Questions were asked. or “On average, how many hours per week did you spend standing or walking around at work or away from home?” When the study began in 1992, the participants were on average 59.2 years old and free of serious chronic diseases. Then they were monitored for 20 years.
The study included isotemporal substitution modeling to assess the impact of substituting one hourly characteristic with another comparable period of time on healthy aging. For example, they found that every two hours spent watching television was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of healthy aging. In contrast, light exercise every two hours was associated with a 6 percent increase in the chances of healthy aging.
Replacing TV time with light exercise at home increases your chances of healthy aging. For those who sleep seven hours or less at night Substituting TV time for sleep It was good for health.
“If you replace our sedentary behavior with any activity, I mean simple physical activity like standing or walking, or doing housework, it’s better than being a couch potato for long periods of time,” he says. Frank HTH Chan, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health and author of the study.
And swapping TV time for light exercise or sleep is beneficial for some individuals at any age, Wang said.
The researchers adjusted for several variables including age; income Family history of cancer, myocardial infarction and diabetes; Baseline blood pressure and high cholesterol; Menopause and postmenopausal hormone use; and nutrition.
The findings of the study show the relationship between sitting and watching television. Simple physical activity, and healthy aging opportunities, and not a causal relationship. Because their study population was limited to nurses in the United States, the researchers wrote, “the findings may not be generalizable to other populations.”
Hu said that the isotemperal substitution model they used is important by analogy with the concept of opportunity cost in economic theory or the idea of isocaloric substitutes in food and nutrition. These models recognize that people have a certain amount of time or calories in a day, so when they choose one thing over another, it costs them to do something else.
Watching TV and eating junk food
The problem with watching TV is not just a sedentary habit. While watching, people eat more junk food and drink more sugary drinks, increasing their calorie intake, Hu said.
Scott LearA health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver said the study’s results were not significant, but researchers made some important distinctions. They made it clear that when people are sedentary, their health is affected not only by what they do and where they do it – but also by being inactive. Sitting at home at work and between sitting and watching television have health risks, as opposed to sitting and reading or writing.
“Watching TV is associated with an earlier risk of death, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, and watching TV is a little different than reading a book,” said Lear, who was not involved. The study.
The inclusion of sleep in the study was novel, Lear said, pointing out that it is a low health characteristic. It may seem like a passive behavior, but when we sleep, our brain is most active and performs functions that affect our overall health.
He compared the mind to an office, and at the end of the day, all the events of the day—going to the grocery store, running to the bus, talking to someone at work—are like files scattered all over the place. The floor and should get up in the morning and organized. They said this is what the brain does when we sleep.
Sleep is when we get rid of toxins that accumulate in the brain throughout the day. Studies They showed a link between this accumulation of metabolic waste and a person’s risk of dementia later in life, Lear said.
“We talk about exercise and healthy eating. Those are the two heavyweights we talk about. But sleep is incredibly important,” Lear said.
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