A majority of people have heard the phrase a body in motion, stays in motion. Researchers have found a same concept is true for women who sit a lot.
“In general, a use it or lose it philosophy applies,” said lead author Rebecca Seguin, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University in a press release. “We have a lot of modern conveniences and technologies that, while making us more efficient, also lead to decreased activity and diminished ability to do things. Women need to find ways to remain active.”
Researchers at Cornell University followed 93,000 postmenopausal American women. The found those with the highest amounts of sedentary time died earlier than their most active counterparts. Sedentary time was defined as sitting and resting, but did not include sleeping.
Researchers discovered this was also the case even in women who routinely exercised, but had high amounts of daily sedative time.
“The assumption has been that if you’re fit and physically active, that will protect you, even if you spend a huge amount of time sitting each day,” said Seguin. “In fact, in doing so you are far less protected from negative health effects of being sedentary than you realize.”
During the study, researchers found women with more than 11 hours of daily sedentary time faced a 12 percent increase in premature death compared with the most energetic group.
The most active group was defined as women who had four hours or less of inactivity daily.
Women with more than 11 hours of daily sedentary time also increased their chances of dying from cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cancer by 13, 27 and 21 percent, respectively.
“If you’re in an office, get up and move around frequently,” said Seguin. “If you’re retired and have more idle time, find ways to move around inside and outside the house. Get up between TV programs, take breaks in computer and reading time and be conscious of interrupting prolonged sedentary time.”
Women begin to lose muscle mass at age 35, a change that accelerates with menopause.
Regular exercise, especially lifting weights and other muscular strength-building exercises, helps to counteract these declines, according to the study.
“Small changes that make a big difference,” said Seguin.
The paper, “Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women,” is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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