Every move counts
move more, sit less
Introduction
“It’s not how many years you live but how your going to live your last years”
Dr. Inigio San Milan
1. Health span & lifespan increase if VO2 max is higher. It declines with age so the key is to train VO2 max so you have a higher baseline. Notice that lifelong exercisers have a higher VO2 max when older than do young sedentary people.
From Gareth Sandford,
“Pro tip for fitness enthusiasts:
Raising your VO2max ceiling can delay its decay with time.”
Survival of the fittest: VO2max, a key predictor of longevity? 2018
From Gregoire Millet
“Association between V̇O2max reductions with ageing and changes of training volumes. 54% V̇O2max decline explained by training-volume changes Age is just a number. Keep training and you stay fit !”
The Impact of Training on the Loss of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Aging Masters Endurance Athletes. 2022
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/11050
Losing VO2 max is associated with functional disability
“If you want to be above average at 90 you can’t be average at 50”
Peter Attia, M.D.
2. Adequate Physical Activity mitigates risk of losing functional independence with age.
“Ageing and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with declines in muscle function and cardiorespiratory fitness, resulting in an impaired capacity to perform daily activities and maintain independent functioning.”
“in the presence of adequate exercise/PA these changes in muscular and aerobic capacity with age are substantially attenuated.”
“exercise intervention programmes improve the hallmarks of frailty (low body mass, strength, mobility, PA level, energy) and cognition, thus optimising functional capacity during ageing.”
International Exercise Recommendations in Older Adults (ICFSR): Expert Consensus Guidelines. 2021.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34409961/
3. Reducing Sedentary Time is just as key a factor as is being active on a regular basis
“Recent research has reported that even a smaller increase in exercise levels and less time spent sedentary was associated with reduced mortality, prompting the ‘move more, sit less’ message.”
“International guidelines consistently state that the minimum dose of exercise for health benefits is 150 min of moderate intensity or 75 min of vigorous intensity physical activity (PA) per week.”
ABC of prescribing exercise as medicine: a narrative review of the experiences of general practitioners and patients. 2021.
https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/7/2/e001050
4. Physical activity aids cognitive health and physical function
“Physical activity is associated with enhanced cognitive function and mental health across the life span, plus improved mental health and physical function.”
The Scientific Foundation for the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition. 2018.
https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/16/1/article-p1.xml
5. The biggest bump in health benefits from physical activity comes from going from inactive to semi-active
“There is no threshold that must be exceeded before benefits begin to accrue; the accrual is most rapid for the least active individuals. Sedentary time is directly associated w/ risk of all-cause & CV mortality, incident CV disease & type 2 diabetes, & selected cancer sites.”
"Compared with the least (1895 steps), the first quartile (4000 steps/day) had a 37% lower risk for all causes of death (HR = 0.63, 0.57-0.71)"
Dose-response association between the daily step count and all-cause mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2022.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2022.2099186?journalCode=rjsp20