Are you an “active couch potato?” Sounds like an oxymoron but many of us can relate to the term. For me it goes something like this. I get up early and am off to an 8 am dance aerobics class and then head home. If I’m not mindful, I can sit in front of a computer screen for the rest of the day. That is what an active coach potato looks like.
Why is that a concern? I exercise for 60 minutes? Well, an interesting study looked at over 3700 Finish men and women in their mid-40s to assess physical activity and risk of chronic disease. They were asked to wear an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days during waking hours. (An accelerometer is a device commonly used in research to measure physical activity and it is more sensitive than a simple step counter and more reliable than self-reported activity). Before measuring physical activity, the study participants were tested for blood lipids, blood sugar, insulin levels, body composition including waist circumference and levels of body fat. Together these are markers of cardiometabolic health. (Cardiometabolic health is a collection of conditions and risk factors that often occur together and are a significant cause of heart disease.)
Based on the data collected on physical activity, four groups were identified:
- Active couch potatoes (1,173 participants were in this group)
- Sedentary light movers (1,199 participants)
- Sedentary exercisers (694 participants)
- Movers (636 participants)
Active coach potatoes had the highest daily sedentary time (>10 hours a day, not counting sleep.) The 3 other groups moved more throughout the entire day and therefore spent less time being inactive. “Sedentary exercisers” and “Movers” exceeded the minimum recommended targets for moderate-to vigorous physical activity by accumulating more than 60–75 minutes on average each day and spent less time sitting. Both of these groups had more favorable differences in cardiometabolic health markers compared to the active couch potatoes.
While the perfect or optimal time for light, moderate, or vigorous physical activity is unclear, what is clear is that sitting too much is not good. This study supports a recent systematic review that found taking short breaks of standing led to a reduction in blood glucose levels after meals compared to sitting. Taking a short, light intensity walk was even better than standing or sitting. For those who have spent the past decades doing just the opposite—sitting more and moving less—changing that habit is one of the easiest and most effective steps we can take toward better health. Any amount of activity is good, but the pattern of physical activity and the accumulation of more active time confers the most health benefit.
We all know we should move more, but how do we get into motion? Here are some ways to get more active every day….even on those days when you do exercise.
- Use what you have. If you have stairs in your house, stair stepping is easy. Set your fitness watch to remind you every hour to move and walk up and down stairs for 5 minutes. Stair climbing is great for thigh muscles, and it will get your heart rate up, too.
- Choose at least one active volunteer job. Book clubs and knitting circles are wonderful but not very active. I joined the local botanical garden and co-curate the herb garden (click here a link to the post I wrote about the herb garden). This volunteer job adds more activity to my day by weeding, bending, raking, and trimming plants. Bonus: I can use the herbs I prune!
- Be inefficient around the house. Make multiple trips from room to room to boost activity. Instead of making one trip to put away clean laundry, make several trips.
- Walk a dog, if not your own, the local shelter would welcome volunteer dog walkers! Just beware, my neighbor did that and ended up with a new dog!
- Keep it visible. Loop an exercise band around a doorknob and set a 5 or 8-pound dumbbell in sight for a visual reminder to use it. OK, so that decor won’t make the pages of House Beautiful, but you can always put them away when entertaining!
- Do what you enjoy. Some enjoy Zumba classes, others pickleball but whatever it is make it enjoyable. I dislike exercise bikes or treadmills, but I can ride my real bike for hours and take a long walk every day.
How do you move more? Drop a comment and let me know!
Dr. Chris Rosenbloom is a registered dietitian nutritionist and professor emeriti at Georgia State University. She is co-author of Food & Fitness After 50 and writes a blog, Fit to Eat, on optimal aging. Follow her blog by clicking here.
