With which it passes, it is natural that covid-19 and its serious consequences are on everyone’s lips. However, today more than ever, it is good for us to remember this physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle They have also been doing their job for a long time.
Own World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged this lack of physical activity is an important risk factor for increasing the number of people who you got sick and premature mortality. In fact, the 2020 estimates indicated that non-compliance with the recommendations in the physical activity is responsible for more than 5 million deaths worldwide each year. Dimensions pandemic, definitely.
Recently, a study based on data from more than a million people indicated that if physical activity practice was enough – equivalent to 60-75 minutes a day of moderate-intensity physical activity – would serve to counteract growth risk of mortality which means staying more than four hours a day.
Don’t forget to be sitting for a long time it is a dangerous practice and nothing healthy, especially if combined with little physical activity. In fact, this combination increases the risk of mortality as well tobacco o la obesity.
However, despite the evidence, only 18% of adults aged 65 to 74 years and 15% of adults over 75 years meet the minimum exercise guidelines cardiovascular and muscle strength established by the WHO. That is, do more than 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous aerobic physical activity per week and muscle strengthening exercises at least 2 times a week.
Moreover, even if it did, it would also be insufficient. Because these levels of physical activity can alleviate but do not eliminate the risk associated with watching TV for more than 3 hours a day.
Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle, two old known public health problems
In the elderly, if physical inactivity is combined with a style of sedentary life, muscle mass and physical function are reduced. Consequently, the ability to perform daily activities, increases risk of falling and independence and quality of life are lost. In addition, sedentary lifestyle also aggravates chronic health problems, including hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, Diabetes, depression and dementia.
It shouldn’t be taken as a joke. Staying immobilized for short periods of 5 days, even in young people, reduces muscle mass by up to 4%, endurance 9% and up to 10% cardiovascular capacity. If you were to stay in bed in the hospital, just three weeks of complete rest would be similar to a deterioration in functional capacity equivalent to 30 years of aging.
To make matters worse, it has been shown that it is enough to reduce the number of daily steps for 14 days to increase risk of metabolic diseases future and resistance to insulin, typical of type II diabetes and obesity. It is confirmed that we are designed to move. And that if we don’t, the burden of disease and mortality will increase exponentially.
Despite great advances in science, there are currently no drugs to improve physical capacity in the elderly. It doesn’t even seem likely that any will develop in the immediate future. The only “vaccine” we have is exercise. With the advantage that it is cheap, efficient and safe and that there is no supply problem, there are no queues or exchanges: everyone could start taking it from now on.
Limited and inactive
Worldwide, SARS-CoV-2 It has had a great impact on the regular practice of physical activity. In the specific case of Spain, the European country reduced the number of daily steps of the population the most – by 38% less – in the first weeks of closure. Less physical activity than was already considered insufficient.
In the time we have to live, we have to maintain the levels physical activity the tallest possible. Among other things because in case of illness or even hospitalization, the functional capacity we have will act as a real life insurance to cope more successfully with the disease itself or Collateral damage of aggressive treatments pharmacological that they can prescribe us. In other words, the better we are when we get sick, the more likely we are to overcome the disease.
Walking is not enough
(…)
exercise improves physical function and quality of life. But it also reduces the burden of noncommunicable diseases and the disease general mortality early, including mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory tract disease. And, although it is better than nothing, walking is not enough.
In 2020, World Health Organization published the new guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior in which he recommended strong practicing multicomponent physical activity of moderate or intense intensity three or more days a week. This includes exercises to improve cardiovascular endurance (such as walking) with strength training and balance.
From Public University of Navarra We have implemented a multicomponent program of individualized physical exercises to prevent fragility and the risk of falls called VIVIFRAIL. It includes walking exercises for cardiovascular endurance training, as well as moderate weight movement to increase limb endurance, as well as balance and mobility exercises.
It has been shown that, applied in over 70 years, the VIVIFRAIL program fulfills its combat objective fragility (low body mass, strength, mobility, level of physical activity, energy). Or what is the same, optimizes and prevents the loss of functional capacity during aging.
As if that weren’t enough, at Fr.acute hospitalized patientsIt has also been shown that supervised exercise interventions based on the VIVIFRAIL methodology are safe and effective in alleviating functional impairment and even preventing cognitive impairment.
The importance of prescribing exercises
Is it ethical not to prescribe exercise? Despite all that has been discussed so far, the exercise has not yet been fully integrated into the normal practice of primary or geriatric medicine. In addition, it is virtually absent from the basic training of most doctors and other health professionals. However, doctors should be the first “exercise prescribers”, and medical schools should learn that skeletal muscle remains a plastic and adaptable throughout human life.
Regarding physical educators, should take a more active role in targeting, monitoring and evaluation physical exercises in people of any age who have a health problem, those with functional diversity or different abilities, especially in the health environment.
On the other hand, we must not forget a message as simple as it is important: exercise is not just for children and young adults. Older people can adapt of exercise and it is worth benefiting from it. It’s never too late – and you’re never too old – to contract your muscles.
It seems incontestable is that more research is needed on exercise interventions for older adults, the “forgotten” in medical studies. Especially to dispel doubts about safety, efficacy and inherent variability between people in response to exercises.
Understanding this variability is essential to identify the best method of treatment (simple exercises or multi-component exercises) and decide the intensity (low, moderate or high intensity resistance exercises). The global idea that “exercise is medicine”. But just as not all drugs cure cancer, not all types of exercise (cardiovascular, strength training, balance) have the same effects on disease and functional capacity.
Anyway, aphysical activity it should be considered, with and without a pandemic, as an essential activity with an impact on public health. This should be one of the major challenges for public health and health policies in the coming years.
* This article was published on The Conversation and reproduced here under a Creative Commons license. Click here to read the original version.
* Mikel Izquierdo, Professor and Director of the Department of Health Sciences, Public University of Navarra.