Physical activity, even for a limited time, contributes to reducing the risk of death

The need to perform exercise, even for a short period

Doctors and fitness experts stress the importance of exercising even for a short period of time, as a slight increase in movement in inactive people is sufficient to provide them with significant protection. Experts confirm that physical activity protects against the risk of death, and point out that brisk walking is a moderate to intense activity, and they suggest, for example, the idea of ​​walking to the workplace.

PARIS - A large study recently published stresses that there is a link between physical activity and a lower risk of death for an individual, even if this movement is limited to a few minutes a day.

And this study, reported in the "Sports Medicine" journal of sports medicine, indicated that a "small increase" in movement in inactive people is enough to provide significant protection.

A large number of studies have already been conducted on the benefits of physical activity, and its positive repercussions on health are widely known, but some points related to it need clarification, including the exact level of activity required to significantly improve an individual's health.

In its quest to answer this question, the study relied on about 200 available research, which sometimes reached conflicting results.

But the researchers collected the data of these studies that relate to a sample of 30 million people in total, and by weighting them according to the degree of study hardness, they concluded that the results of physical activity quickly appear and become tangible.

A person should devote only ten minutes a day to physical activity, and he does not have to go to a gym for this purpose

And it is enough for a completely inactive person to engage in an activity that does not exceed one hour per week, which the study described as “moderate” to “vigorous”, to reduce by almost a quarter (23 percent) the risk of early death.

"A person should allocate only ten minutes a day" for physical activity, "and he does not necessarily have to go to a sports club for this purpose, but rather this can be included in his life," said Soren Brigg, an epidemiologist from the University of Cambridge, who participated in preparing the study. daily familiar.

In this sense, brisk walking is a moderate to intense activity, and Bragg suggested, for example, the idea of ​​walking to the workplace, at least part of the distance.

However, the contribution of physical activity to reducing the risk of death varies according to its cause, according to the study, as the link is more clear between regular physical activity and a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, but physical movement is less effective in relation to deaths from cancer.

According to a study on movement and mortality, which was published in the “JAMA” Journal of Internal Medicine, it confirmed the possibility of preventing more than 111 thousand premature deaths annually through a commitment to walking for 10 minutes a day, and the study used data on physical activity and mortality rates for thousands of American adults, to estimate The number of deaths each year that could be avoided if everyone exercised more, as the results indicated that even a little extra physical activity could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths over the coming years.

The study began by formulating the hypothesis that if everyone started exercising for at least 150 minutes a week, early deaths would decrease significantly, and based on the previous hypothesis, researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the CDC decided to explore what might happen to mortality rates if he started People move more.

In this study, the researchers took information from 4,840 participants of different races, male and female, whose ages ranged from 40 to 85 years. Based on this information, the researchers classified the people according to the number of minutes they walked or moved on most days. They also examined the names of the people by comparing them to the death record. To determine the national risk of mortality for different levels of activity.

Using these results, the researchers began by creating a series of "what if" statistics, in which they asked about the relationship between moderate exercise, such as brisk walking for an extra 10 minutes a day, and the number of deaths that may not occur.

To be more transparent, the researchers made adjustments to calculate the statistics for people who were too frail or unable to walk or move around easily, and took into account age, education, smoking status, diet, body mass index and other health factors in their calculations.

Next, the researchers ran the same statistical scenario, with everyone working an additional 20 minutes a day, and finally an additional 30 minutes a day, and examined the mortality outcomes.

The researchers found that for every adult able to walk if he walked briskly or exercised an extra 10 minutes a day, 11,174 deaths per year could be avoided nationwide, or about 7 percent of all deaths in the year, excluding external influences such as epidemics. And wars.

For every adult able to walk if they walked briskly or exercised an extra 10 minutes a day, 11,174 deaths could be avoided annually.

The researchers doubled the imagined exercise time to an additional 20 minutes a day, which resulted in the number of potentially avoidable deaths rising to 209,459. Thus, tripling the imagined exercise time to an additional 30 minutes a day avoided 272,297 deaths, or nearly 17 percent of the deaths. Typical annual totals.

These results provide a message to public health entities and all people about the importance of promoting physical activity to reduce premature deaths, so walking or engaging in any kind of physical activity can have a significant impact on improving life and avoiding early death.

An Australian study conducted by the University of Sydney also reported that in order to avoid exposure to health risks, people who sit for long hours at desks or watch TV need to exercise for more than thirty minutes.

Experts point out that those who sit more than six hours a day without exercise have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, compared to those who exercise for an hour a day.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, included a sample of 150,000 people over the age of 45, and it took nine years. The average Australian worker spends more than six hours a day sitting, which the researchers classify as "long periods".

Higher sitting time has been linked to health problems, including cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even depression.

Extreme diets serious health risks

Harsh diets damage the breathing muscles and the heart muscle. Losing more than 1.5 kilograms per week is not healthy

Bonn (Germany) - The German Society for Nutrition has warned against following extreme diets, given the serious health risks they entail.

The association explained that harsh diets promise to lose up to 5 kg of weight within a week, noting that losing more than 1.5 kg per week is unhealthy.

The health risks resulting from harsh diets are represented in the weakening of the immune system, constant fatigue, weakness, wasting, lack of concentration, dizziness, digestion problems, biliary gland problems, bad breath, receding gums, in addition to pale and sagging skin and hair loss.

In the worst cases, these harsh diets may damage the breathing muscles and the heart muscle, which poses a threat to life.

The association added that following harsh diets is often associated with what is known as the “yo-yo” effect, meaning that it ultimately leads to the opposite result of weight gain.

The German Society emphasized the need to supply the body with calories of not less than 1,500 calories per day, in order to supply the body with the necessary energy, noting that it is healthy to lose weight at a rate ranging from 300 to 500 calories per day.

The health risks of harsh diets are represented by a weakened immune system, constant fatigue, weakness, and emaciation

For this purpose, weight should be lost gradually by following a healthy and balanced diet based on plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and reducing fats and sugars, and avoiding fast food and prepared foods, while continuing to practice sports and motor activities.

And German nutritionist Michael Cobb warned against following harsh diets, during which certain types of foods are completely dispensed with, and the use of nutritional supplements that contain substances that suppress the feeling of hunger.

Cobb stressed that weight loss is basically a long-term process and cannot be completed quickly, as it requires a change in lifestyle in general by adjusting dietary habits and increasing the practice of motor activities.

As for when trying to lose weight quickly through these harsh diets, the body is exposed to the risk of the “yo-yo” effect, which is a term given to the return of weight again after a certain period of time and perhaps in a greater amount, once we return to old eating habits.

Cobb added that most of the nutritional supplements that are used when following these systems are true that they do not cause side effects and contain mainly nutrients important to the body such as proteins and carbohydrates, as well as special types of plant extracts that can perform several functions, including discouraging the feeling of hunger. However, these plant extracts can also cause problems in some people, especially those with diabetes and liver problems.

Therefore, it is better to stay away from such diets and adhere to the elements of weight loss in the long term, which revolves around changing the lifestyle by modifying the diet by eating more fruits and vegetables instead of sweets and high-calorie foods, exercising and trying to introduce movement activities into a person’s life. Take the stairs, for example, instead of always using the elevator.