Physical Activity and Health Flashcards
Physical Activity
Any bodily movement produced by the skeletal muscles that increases heart rate and breathing, and requires a substantial increase over resting energy expenditure.
Physical Benefits
Bone Health - reduced incidence of weak, brittle bones, and osteoporosis amongst regular exercisers
Enhanced immunity - moderate, regular physical activity enhances our body’s immune system, making us less susceptible to common colds, and half as many sick days taken
Mortality - inactivity increases all causes of mortality (live longer)
Exercise slows changes associated with advancing age including loss of lean muscle tissue, reduced strength and mobility needed to live independently, increased body fat, decreased work capacity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, increased lung efficiency.
Obesity - decreased risk of obesity and all that comes with obesity
Mental/Emotional Benefits
Reduced depression and anxiety - regular, moderate exercise linked to reduced depression and anxiety disorders, including panic attacks
Brain health - cardiovascular fitness associated with reduced harmful aging effects on brain structures and memory; larger brains of physically active individuals amongst those with early-stage Alzheimer’s
Mood/stress - regular exercise boosts mood (increased production of mood elevating brain chemical/endorphins), increased energy, concentration, alertness, and happiness, and decreases stress levels and increases ability to handle daily stress
Benefits for Chronic Disease
Regular exercise reduces risk of many chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, and type II diabetes.
Heart Disease
Sedentary people twice as likely to die of heart attack.
Regularly active people typically have stronger heart muscles, more efficient pumping of blood by heart, decreased heart rate and resting heart rate, and decreased blood pressure.
Cancer
Reduced risk of certain types of cancer and reoccurrence/secondary cancer
Type II Diabetes
Controls insulin resistance
Exercise prevents pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes
Societal Costs of Physical Inactivity
A key driver of healthcare overuse in Canada can be attributed to physical inactivity.
Physical inactivity has negative consequences for inactive people and for greater society.
Contributes to health issues that require people to use more health care services and imposes extra costs on the publicly funded health care system.
Compared to an active person, an inactive person spends 38% more days in hospital, uses 13% more specialist services, and uses 12% more nurse visits.
A 10% reduction in prevalence of physical inactivity = savings of $150 million annually.
Physical inactivity costs taxpayers $6.8 billion a year.
24 Hour Movement Guidelines 0-4 years
Sleep: 14-17 hours (infants); 11-14 hours (1-2 yrs); 10-13 hours (3-4 yrs)
Move: 30 minutes (infants, 0-1 yrs); 180 minutes any intensity (1-2 yrs); 180 minutes, at least 60 minutes energetic play (3-4 yrs)
Sit: Screen time 0 minutes (0-1 yrs); less than 60 minutes (1-4 yrs)
Sit: Not restrained for more than 60 minutes (0-4 yrs)
24 Hour Movement Guidelines 5-17 years
Sleep: 9-11 hours (5-13 yrs); 8-10 hours, with consistent wake-up (14-17 yrs)
Moderate-Vigorous PA: 60 minutes/day; 3 times per week for muscle/bone strengthening
Sit: Screen time maximum 2 hours
Light PA: several hours/day (structured or unstructured)
24 Hour Movement Guidelines 18-64 years
Sleep: 7-9 hours; consistent wake-up
Moderate-Vigorous PA: 150 minutes/week; 2 times/week muscle/bone strengthening
Sit: 8 hours max; 3 hours screen time max
Light PA: several hours/day (ie. walking)
24 Hour Movement Guidelines 65+ years
Sleep: 7-8 hours; consistent wake-up
Moderate-Vigorous PA: 150 minutes/week minimum; 2 times/week muscle/bone strengthening; challenge balance
Sit: 8 hours max; 3 hours screen time max
Light PA: several hours/day
METs
Means “metabolic equivalent” of the energy cost of physical activities.
1 MET = the energy it takes to sit quietly for one hour.
~1 calorie per kg of body weight
