Purposeful Physical Activity for Vitality

1. Chapter 6 C H A P T E R 6 Meaningful Activity: Lifetime Vitality

2. Objectives This chapter will help you do the following: • Incorporate purposeful physical activity into your life • Differentiate life expectancy from life span • Understand how activity and other habits influence longevity • Appreciate how fitness influences your physiological age • Understand how activity and fitness extend the prime of life

3. Purposeful Physical Activity • Meaningful physical activity is done in the normal course of activities of daily living. • Walking to the store, biking to work, walking the dog, gardening, mowing, raking, shoveling snow, playing with kids, hiking, running, or biking. • People who engage in purposeful activities are more likely to remain active throughout their lives. (continued)

4. Purposeful Physical Activity (continued) • Over the past 75 years, the United States has changed from a country engaged in physical labor to one where many are sedentary through the day. • Modern luxuries make our lives easier and decrease the need for us to use our muscles for activity. • Each step toward reduced human movement brings unintended consequences of a sedentary lifestyle and chronic diseases that used to be rare. (continued)

5. Purposeful Physical Activity(continued) • It has been estimated that during each day we expend 600 to 1,000 fewer calories in activities of daily living than our ancestors, who hunted, gathered, farmed, and relied on manual labor to perform daily tasks. • At the same time we are eating much more relative to our physical activity levels, and becoming a society with high obesity rates and all of the associated chronic diseases. (continued)

6. Purposeful Physical Activity(continued) • To compensate, we drive to the modern gym or health club to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. • Many people who begin an activity regimen soon give up for lack of time or interest. • By including purposeful activity in our lives, we could be a more active society.

7. Definition of Terms • Physical activity Any bodily movement produced by the skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure beyond resting. • Exercise A subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and purposeful in the sense that improvement or maintenance of physical fitness is the objective. (continued)

8. Definition of Terms(continued) • Physical fitness Includes cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility, comprising a set of attributes that people achieve that relate to the ability to perform physical activity • Dose The total amount of energy expended in physical activity (continued)

9. Definition of Terms(continued) • Intensity Reflects the rate of energy expenditure during activity • Absolute intensity Often expressed in METs, where 1 MET equals resting metabolic rate (~3.5 ml·kg-1·min-1) • Relative intensity Refers to the percentage of aerobic power used during exercise and is often expressed as a percentage of maximal heart rate, or percent VO2max

10. Including Purposeful Activity in Daily Living • Research suggests that it is easier to accumulate the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity in a day by participating in meaningful activity. • To improve fitness, more vigorous exercise might have to be done during meaningful activity but may not be possible for some. (continued)

11. Including Purposeful Activity in Daily Living (continued) • Burning 150 to 400 calories per day is enough to meet the recommended guideline for physical activity. • To determine calories expended while walking a mile, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.667. • Burning 400 calories a day through physical activity is best.

12. Ideas for Purposeful Activity • Walk or bike instead of driving to and from work or school. • Walk or bike instead of driving to the bus stop on the way to and from work or school. • Walk or bike with your children to and from school rather than driving them. • Use public transportation whenever possible because it generally requires more human movement than driving alone. • Use the stairs instead of taking an elevator or escalator. • Get off the bus a few stops early and walk the remaining distance to your destination. (continued)

13. Ideas for Purposeful Activity(continued) • Park in a more distant parking lot from work or school and walk. • Mow the lawn with a push mower rather than a riding mower. For small yards, consider a rotary mower. • Rake leaves by hand rather than using power tools. • Garden. • Push a stroller. • Clean the house. • Walk, bike, or run with your dog. (continued)

14. Ideas for Purposeful Activity(continued) • Make frequent trips to the store by foot or bike rather than making major shopping trips using your automobile. • Golf as a social event, but be sure to carry your clubs. • Engage in traditional sports for social fun or competition. • Dance for both purposeful activity and social fun. • Have walking rather than seated meetings at work when possible. • At the office, walk to other offices to talk rather than calling or sending e-mails.

15. Environment Affects Purposeful Activity • Many communities have limited infrastructure to support physical activity. • Limited sidewalks, bike paths, bike racks, street lights, parks, and playgrounds • Recognizing barriers allows for alternative strategies to be devised. • Becoming involved locally can also affect the access your community provides. • Public pressure can increase the number of bike paths and parks in your community and create safe walking routes to schools for children.

16. Age, Activity, and Vitality • Life expectancy has gone up because of declines in infant mortality and infectious diseases, yet the attainable life span has not changed. • We are not living longer but avoiding premature deaths. • The survival curve shows an attainable life span of approximately 85 years with a standard deviation of 4 years • ~68% of the population will live 81 to 89 years • ~95% of the population will live 77 to 93 years (continued)

17. Figure 6.1 Survival Curves

18. Age, Activity, and Vitality (continued) • Delay of chronic illness increases adult vigor. • Life remains physically, emotionally, and intellectually vigorous until shortly before its end. • Appropriate, healthy behaviors can delay the onset of disease that can reduce vigor. • Heart and lung function, bone density, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels can be improved to increase the span of vigorous years. • Research indicates that activity adds years to your life and life to your years.

19. Figure 6.2 Vigor and the Active Life

20. Theories of Aging • Caloric restriction • Animal studies have shown that eating fewer calories can extend life expectancy dramatically. • Animals fed fewer calories had lower rates of tumors and chronic disease. • Inherited factors • People with exceptionally long lives and their offspring have larger LDL cholesterol molecules and lower prevalence of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. (continued)

21. Theories of Aging(continued) • Free radicals • Reactive molecules with unpaired electrons that can cause damage to DNA and possibly result in cancer • Life span inversely related to metabolic rates • Exercise increases metabolic rates, but moderate activity enhances antioxidant capacity. • More research will help to clarify the relationship. • Stress • Stressful occupations have been associated with a doubling in the rates of CVD.

22. Table 6.1

23. Healthy Habits • Adequate sleep (7 to 8 hours per day) • A good breakfast • Regular meals (avoid snacks) • Weight control • Abstinence from smoking cigarettes • Moderate alcohol consumption • Regular activity or exercise

24. Seasons of Life • Young adult This stage in life often requires severing ties, getting an education, finding a mate, establishing a career, and sometimes starting a family. • Adult Often the 30-something adult purchases a home; sometimes this time in life brings a realization that time to reach goals may be slipping away. (continued)

25. Seasons of Life(continued) • Middle age From 45 to 55; redefining roles in life may bring a renewal of purpose. • Senior This period can be the best of all if one has resources to fulfill personal goals. (continued)

26. Seasons of Life(continued) • Elder After 80 years, people often say they slow down, but we shouldn’t stop; maintaining physical vitality allows for many years of independent living. • Centenarians The number of people living beyond 100 is rising, and they often are positive and realistic, have a sense of humor, are spiritual, have courage, and can accept the loss that may come with age.

27. Longevity Common traits associated with longevity • Moderation Key in all areas of life: diet, vices, work, activity, and play. • Flexibility Accept change and avoid rigid habits. • Challenge Accept challenges you face in life and create them as necessary. (continued)

28. Longevity (continued) • Health habits Have a relaxed attitude toward health, do things in moderation, and generally lead a healthy lifestyle. • Relationships Older people enjoy the relationships they have with others, maintain an interest in friends and family, and enjoy their marriages. • Outlook Maintain a positive outlook, and enjoy each stage in life. (continued)

29. Longevity (continued) Active life • Engage in daily routines that require activity; this provides purpose. • The active life can benefit you in a number of ways: • Health • Mobility • Economics • Ecology • Adaptability • Survival

30. Physiological Age • Physiological age is a composite of health, physiological capacity, and performance measures. • Aerobic fitness scores are the best single measure of physiological age. • They measure the health and capacity of the respiratory, circulatory, and muscular systems. • Other indicators • Family history, health habits, blood pressure and cholesterol, measures of strength, reaction time, vision, hearing

31. Aerobic Fitness and Age • Large cross-sectional studies have shown that aerobic fitness declines about 8 to 10 percent per decade. • Moderately active people can attenuate this decline to only 4 to 5 percent per decade. • In trained individuals, the decline may be as small as 2 percent per decade.

32. Figure 6.4 Decline in Fitness With Age

33. Strength and Age • Strength declines until about the fifth decade and then declines more rapidly. • Loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia. • Welle determined that this is a component in frailty that contributes to loss of strength, increased falls, and fractures. • It has been linked to osteoporosis, insulin resistance, and arthritis. • Deschenes discovered that a decrease in testosterone and an increase in catabolic hormones cause more wasting. • However, Fiatarone found that resistance training in elderly can decrease sarcopenia and counter muscle weakness.

34. Summary • To ensure a vigorous and independent retirement, maintain physical fitness throughout life. • The sooner you start in a fitness program and the more you invest, the better off you will be. • The best time to start is when you’re young. The second-best time is NOW. • Better fitness will mean reduced future medical costs and less need for long-term care. (continued)

35. Summary (continued) • Building purposeful activity into your life will help to ensure better fitness throughout your life and possibly, greater longevity. • Living a long life is only half of the story; with increased physical activity, you will live independently longer and be able to do the things you enjoy. Starting now will build your future health.