One week ago, the first-ever U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health was made public after months of rewriting and polishing. It has been a much-anticipated document in the fitness industry, and was certainly the talk of last weekend’s National Sporting Goods Association annual trade show at McCormick Place.
You can expect to see a number of promotional campaigns citing the surgeon general’s call to action and exercise. Physical inactivity has been officially deemed a “serious nationwide public health problem” by Dr. Audrey Manley, the acting surgeon general.
The federal government’s primary target is people who will otherwise suffer from preventable disease if they don’t become more active. The numbers are staggering: Sixty percent of American adults do not get the recommended amount of physical activity and nearly one-quarter are not active in any way; about a third of adults are obese (20 percent heavier than healthy body weight); 13.5 million have coronary heart disease; 8 million have adult-onset diabetes; 50 million contend with high blood pressure; and 95,000 are diagnosed with colon cancer.
The surgeon general’s report provides much evidence that regular physical activity can curtail these illnesses, plus premature death, disability and (maybe the magic words?) reduce health care costs. The document is the more comprehensive analysis of how we can benefit from physical activity and exercise. Here are some of the details beyond the headlines:
– After apparently considerable debate, the report settled on this definition of what amount and type of physical activity is needed to get off the couch and in some sort of shape: a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. The formula presented was for sedentary individuals to burn an extra 1,000 calories per week or about 150 per day.
A host of reasonable activities were presented to burn the 150 calories. Examples include washing windows or floors for 45 to 60 minutes, playing picnic volleyball for 45 minutes, walking 1 3/4 miles at a 20-minute-per-mile pace, raking leaves for 30 minutes or shoveling snow for 15 minutes.
– The report said that for most people, “greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or of longer duration.”
– America is not necessarily void of any serious exercisers, like the thousands who swam, biked and ran during relatively cool conditions in last weekend’s Mrs. T’s Chicago Triathlon. About 15 percent of U.S. adults engage regularly (three times a week for at least 20 minutes) in vigorous physical activity during leisure time. About 22 percent engage regularly (five times a week for at least 30 minutes) in sustained physical activity of any intensity during leisure time.
– Most of the research material considered the benefits of endurance activities that boost the cardiovascular system. But the report did acknowledge that there is mounting evidence that resistance training (weight lifting, elastic bands, calisthenics) should be performed twice a week by all adults to improve muscular strength and overall balance. It is specifically recommended for older people to ensure mobility and help reduce the risk of falling.
– Many of the benefits of exercise training–both endurance and resistance workouts–diminish within two weeks if physical activity is substantially reduced, and effects disappear within two to eight months if physical activity is not resumed. New studies show this trend is more pronounced in younger people than in older individuals (age 60 is about the dividing line).
– Even those people who are moderately active–and might consider themselves a little bit out of shape–are associated with lower mortality rates than those people who are not active and not making any attempt to change their habits.
– Physical inactivity is comparable to cigarette smoking as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. There is no conclusive evidence that regular exercise or physical activity will prevent strokes.
– Regular physical activity is strongly linked to decreased risk of colon cancer, but whether it can reduce the chance of breast or prostate cancer is unclear. There is not enough research to make an evaluation about other reproductive system cancers.
– Competitive sports have been associated with the development of osteoarthritis later in life, but injuries are the likely cause.
– According to the report, “it is unclear whether resistance- or endurance-type physical activity can reduce the accelerated rate of bone loss in postmenopausal women in the absence of estrogen replacement therapy.” That’s still no reason to stop an exercise program; ask your doctor if you are doing the right things to maintain strong bones.
– Preliminary research shows regular physical activity may reduce the risk of developing depression. Physical activity is also recommended for reducing anxiety and improving your mood.
