Sitting around too much proves to be a major health hazard, just as lethal as smoking and twice the health risk of being obese. New research also tells us how much exercise will offset the risks, and which two simple lifestyle changes could reduce our risk of developing cancer by up to 60%.
All these answers and more are brought to you from the top seven hottest pieces of recent lifestyle based research.
1. One Hour of Activity Offsets Risks From 8 Hours of Sitting
We have all heard about the dangers of too much sitting, but for those of us with sedentary jobs, there is now good news — an hour of moderate-intensity activity offsets the health risks of 8 hours of sitting.
Physical inactivity is well established to be a major health hazard associated with a modern, sedentary lifestyle. Excess sitting is associated with 5.3 million premature deaths annually worldwide, which is as many as caused by smoking and twice as many as associated with obesity.
This latest information is based upon a meta-analysis of trials involving more than 1 million individuals, and published in The Lancet. It found that the health risks of sitting for 8 hours a day can be offset by 1 hour of moderate-intensity activity, which includes brisk walking (at 5.6 km/h) or cycling for pleasure (at 16 km/h).
Also to note, even shorter periods of activity (about 25 minutes per day, which is the amount often recommended in public health guidelines) attenuated the mortality risks associated with prolonged sitting. But as the amount of physical activity decreased, the risk for premature death increased.
At present, the biological mechanisms behind these findings are unclear, but work in animal studies suggests that inactivity is linked to a decreased production of certain hormones.
Also, if you do need to sit for prolonged periods, you will benefit from breaking up those periods with short bursts of activity, such as walking for 5 minutes every hour.
Ekelund E et al. Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. Lancet. Published online July 27, 2016
2. Is exercise all in the mind?
Well, yes, it seems exercise does more good if you believe it will. Remarkable research has shown that people who exercise in their minds and imagine themselves working out at the gym actually do get fitter and stronger – without actually going to the gym!
This research established that the more people believed the exercise they were doing was doing them good, the more benefit they received both psychologically (more enjoyment, mood increase, and anxiety reduction) and neuro-physiologically. It was also demonstrated that a negative expectation also diminished the effect.
Mothes, H et al. Expectations affect psychological and neurophysiological benefits even after a single bout of exercise. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2016; DOI: 10.1007/s10865-016-9781-3 Published online Online: 9 August 2016
3. Do dietary factors play a significant role in the development of depression?
Perhaps surprisingly to some, research has established this to be so.
Australian research has examined the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII), which was developed specifically to measure the inflammatory potential of diet, and the risk of depression in the middle-aged women. A total of 6438 women with a mean age of 52 years at baseline were followed-up at 5 surveys over 12 years (2001–2013) – as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.
Women with the most anti-inflammatory diet had an approximately 20% lower risk of developing depression compared with women with the most pro-inflammatory diet.
Shivappa, N et al. Association between inflammatory potential of diet and risk of depression in middle-aged women: the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. British Journal of Nutrition, Published online: 08 August 2016
4. Being obese shrinks the brain – but it may be reversible
Obesity is linked to brain atrophy and 10 years of premature aging, according to new research led by the University of Cambridge.
From middle age, the brains of obese individuals display differences in white matter similar to those in lean individuals 10 years their senior. White matter is the tissue that connects areas of the brain and allows for information to be communicated between regions.
Researchers discovered that an overweight person at 50 had a comparable white matter volume to a lean person aged 60, implying a difference in brain age of 10 years. Strikingly, however, the researchers only observed this neuro-degeneration from middle age onwards, suggesting that our brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period of ageing. Researchers believe “it will be important to find out whether these changes could be reversible with weight loss, which may well be the case”.
Ronan, L et al. Obesity associated with increased brain-age from mid-life. Neurobiology of Aging; e-pub 27 July 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.07.010
5. Being creative eases stress as measured by cortisol levels
The higher a person’s cortisol level, the more stressed a person is likely to be. In this study 45 minutes of art-making was found to significantly lower cortisol levels.
Participants’ written responses indicated that they found the art-making session to be relaxing, enjoyable, helpful for learning about new aspects of self, freeing from constraints, an evolving process of initial struggle to later resolution and about flow/losing themselves in the work. There were no significant differences in outcomes based on prior experiences with art making, media choice or gender.
Kaimal G et al, Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making. Art Therapy Vol 33, 2, 74-78, 2016
6. Cancer is increasing dramatically in the elderly
Researchers from the national Cancer Institute of the USA estimate that in 2040, survivors (those living with cancer) aged 65 to 74 years will account for 24% of all survivors; those 75 to 84 years old, 31%; and those 85 years or older, 18%.
In other words, by 2040, 73% of survivors will be age 65 and older. Remarkably, in that year, just 18% of survivors will be age 50 to 64 years and only 8% will be younger than 50 years old.
These estimates reflect huge changes when compared with figures from 1975.
There is a 6-fold increase in cancer for those aged 65 to 74 years, a 10-fold increase for those aged 75 to 84 years and a 17-fold increase for those aged 85 years or older.
In this study, researchers used data from the US Census Bureau and cancer incidence and survival numbers from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program.
Bluethmann et al. Anticipating the “Silver Tsunami”: Prevalence Trajectories and Comorbidity Burden among Older Cancer Survivors in the United States Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev July 2016 25; 1029
7. Nutrition and exercise may prevent up to 60% of cancers
Many studies have reported that adherence to health promotion guidelines for diet, physical activity and maintenance of healthy body weight may decrease cancer incidence and mortality.
In this major study, a systematic review was performed that involved searching PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Reviews databases. High versus low adherence to established nutrition and physical activity cancer prevention guidelines was consistently and significantly associated with decreases of 10% to 61% in overall cancer incidence and mortality.
The researchers concluded that adhering to cancer prevention guidelines for diet and physical activity is consistently associated with lower risks of overall cancer incidence and mortality.
Kohler LN et al. Adherence to Diet and Physical Activity Cancer Prevention Guidelines and Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(7); 1018–28.
Take all this to heart – and welcome to a happy, healthy old age!
From “What everyone needs to know from the latest lifestyle research files” by Dr Ian Gawler 2016. Reprinted with permission.
