fitbody
STAND UP AND MOVE!
How to Sizzle, not Fizzle by Debra Melani
A
s millions of Americans
ponder quitting
newly launched fitness resolutions after find- ing it tough to squeeze in toning workouts or sweat off a few extra pounds, researchers implore: Don’t give up. Just pump out 20 minutes a day of any kind of exercise—take a brisk walk, jog, lift weights—and stop sit- ting so much. Results can bring a healthier, more youthful feeling of well-being, akin to what explorer Juan Ponce de León sought in the Americas long ago.
In a recently com-
pleted study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, re- searchers followed up with more than 18,000 middle-aged men and women that had been tested an average of 26 years earlier for cardio- respiratory fitness via a treadmill test. They compared those results with the individuals’ current Medicare data at the Cooper Institute Clinic, in Dallas, Texas
“We found those who were fitter
had a much lower rate of heart failure, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s,
diabetes, certain kinds of colon cancer and coronary artery disease,” says co- author Dr. Benjamin Willis. “Fit people that did become ill did so at a much later age than their non-fit counterparts. They were able to enjoy a healthier life longer.”
Researchers found that for every higher MET fitness level (standard metabolic equivalent, a unit for mea- suring fitness related to the amount of oxygen used by the body during physi- cal activity), the risk of chronic disease decreased by about 6 percent. “So those that can raise their fitness levels by three METs have an estimated 18 to 20 percent reduced risk of developing a chronic disease,” Willis explains. The take-away message is, “Just
move,” says study co-author Dr. Laura DeFina. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends in- vesting in a weekly total of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise, either of which can be broken down into two or three 10-minute increments a day, DeFina confirms.
As simple as it sounds, few people are doing it, something New York Times fitness columnist Gretchen Reynolds underscores in her recent book, The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer. “Most of us sit an average of eight hours a day,
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