Stay Active To Lose Weight And Live Longer

     The dangers of a largely sedentary lifestyle on health are reported more frequently as is the need to get more active. The question is, what impact could a sedentary lifestyle have on your health in the long run and what can you do to counteract this?

Sitting 6+ hours a day increases the risk of death by up to 40% over 15 years compared to those that remain seated for less than 3 hours per day.

Each 1+ hour increment in TV time could lead to a further 11% increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

Why does inactivity pose such a risk?

When sitting the body really isn't doing much and slows down leading to a number of harmful metabolic effects. Your calorie-burning rate immediately plunges to one per minute, insulin effectiveness drops and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes rises. More obvious is the risk of becoming obese through this low calorie-burning activity, as the enzymes responsible for breaking down fats, lipids and triglycerides plunge, which in turn causes the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol to fall. To sum up the act of sitting quite clearly "the muscles go as silent as those of a dead horse," - Marc Hamilton inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre.

What action can you take to reduce your sedentary time?

Taking regular breaks even if it's short to stretch your legs, walk to the printer, or any other activity you can find to move from your chair whilst at work could help reduce waist circumference by 2.5 inches (6cm) in sedentary individuals. Activity after/before work such as walking, gardening will prevent time spent in front of the TV and exercise is even better.

What if I don't have time to exercise?

Look back at the calendar you filled in and look where you can replace some inactivity time for 30 minutes of exercise, remember those statistics above. Do you want to avoid that further 11% mortality rate?

You may or may not be aware 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week or 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) is the recommended volume of exercise per week. However, 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes) of vigorous exercise per week is an alternative. For the majority of individuals it is much more convenient to fit 3x 30 minute workouts into a busy timetable, than 5x 30 minute workouts.

I'm busy, what is the most effective training I can do in 30 minutes?

Looking through the website you may have come across the term HIIT or high intensity interval training. HIIT or high intensity interval training is similar to interval training where periods of short high intensity exercise is followed by short low intensity recovery periods. Due to the intensity of the workout EPOC or excess postexercise oxygen consumption occurs. EPOC is a postexercise state following cardiovascular exercise or resistance training (weight training) where the body continues to require oxygen at a higher rate than before the exercise/workout began. During this period the body is restoring itself to the pre-exercise state and using oxygen at an elevated level.

So why would this benefit you and me?

As oxygen is being utilised at a higher level, energy is also being expended at an elevated level potentially allowing fat 'burn' at rest. Research has shown that this postexercise state can last up to 16 hours after exercise, however the period of EPOC is determined by the amount of exertion during the exercise/workout. The higher the effort the longer EPOC has an effect on the body and due to the intensity of HIIT this is why the training method it successful. However, successful training programmes are 50-80% dependant on good nutrition, and improvement will only continue if workouts are adapted, balanced and made functional on a regular basis.

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