With which he passes, it is natural that the COVID-19 and the dire consequences are on everyone’s lips. But today, more than ever, it is good for us to remember that physical inactivity and the sedentary lifestyle They’ve also been doing their thing for a long time.
Own World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognized this lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for increasing the number of people become ill and the premature deathIn fact, 2020 estimates indicated that it fell short of the recommendations of fysical activity it is responsible for more than 5 million deaths a year worldwide. Dimensions of pandemic, Surely.
Recently, a survey based on data from more than a million people indicated that if the physical activity was sufficient – equal to 60-75 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity -, would serve to increase the mortality risk which means that you sit for more than four hours a day.
Don’t forget to be sit for a long time it is a dangerous practice and nada sanaespecially when combined with little exercise. In fact, this combination increases the risk of mortality as well as tobacco o la obesity
However, despite the evidence, only 18% of adults ages 65 to 74 and 15% of adults over 75 years meet the minimum training guidelines cardiovascular and muscle strength determined by WHO. That is, do more than 150 minutes of moderate-vigor aerobic physical activity per week and do muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week.
Plus, even if they did, it wouldn’t be enough either. Because these levels of fysical activity they can reduce, but not eliminate the risk associated with watching television for more than 3 hours a day.
Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle, two well-known public health problems
In older people, if the physical inactivity is combined with a style of sedentary life, muscle mass and physical function are reduced. As a result, the ability to perform daily activities, increases the risk of falling and independence and quality of life are lost. In addition, sedentary living also worsens chronic health conditions, including hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebro-vascular disorders, diabetes, the depression and the Dementia
It should not be taken as a joke. Staying immobile for periods of as little as 5 days, even in young people, reduces muscle mass by up to 4%, strength 9% and up to 10% our cardiovascular capacityIn the case of bedridden in hospital, just three weeks of complete rest would be comparable to a deterioration in functional capacity equal to 30 years of aging
To make matters worse, it has been proven to be enough to reduce the number of daily steps for 14 days every day risk of metabolic disease future and resistance to insulin, typical of type II diabetes and obesity. It has been confirmed that we are designed to relocate. And that, if we don’t, the burden of disease and death will skyrocket exponentially.
Despite great advances in science, there are currently no drugs that contain the physical ability in older people. It doesn’t even seem likely that anything will develop in the near future. The only “vaccine” we have is exercise. With the advantage that it is cheap, efficient and safe and there is no supply problem, no queues or shifts: everyone could start with it from this moment on.
Limited and inactive
Worldwide, the SARS-CoV-2 It has had a profound effect on the usual practice of physical activity. In the specific case of Spain, it was the European country that reduced the number of daily steps of the population the most – 38% less – during the first weeks of incarceration. Less exercise than was already considered insufficient.
In the time when we have to live, we have to reach the levels of fysical activity the highest possibleAmong other things, because in case of illness or even hospitalization, the functional capacity we have will act as a real life insurance policy to deal more successfully with the disease itself or the Collateral damage of aggressive treatments pharmacological they can prescribe for 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
The exercise improves physical functioning and quality of life. But it also reduces the burden of non-communicable diseases and the general mortality asked, including cause-specific mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory tract disease. And while it’s better than nothing, walking isn’t enough.
In 2020, the World Health Organisation published the new guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior recommending it strong practicing multi-component physical activity of moderate or intense intensity three or more days a week. This includes exercising to improve cardiovascular endurance (such as walking) with strength training and balance.
Of the Public University of Navarre We have implemented a multi-component program of individualized physical activity for the prevention of vulnerability and the risk of falls called VIVIFRAIL. It includes walking exercises for cardiovascular resistance training, as well as moving moderate weights to increase limb strength, as well as balance and mobility exercises.
It has been shown to be applied in more than 70 yearsthe VIVIFRAIL program fulfills its objective of combating fragility (low body mass, strength, mobility, level of physical activity, energy). Or whatever the same optimizes and prevents the loss of functional capacity during aging.
As if that were not enough, in pacute hospital patients, Supervised exercise interventions based on the VIVIFRAIL methodology have also been shown to be safe and effective in alleviating functional impairment and even preventing cognitive impairment.
The importance of prescribing exercise
Is it ethical not to prescribe exercise? Despite everything that has been discussed so far, the exercise has not yet been fully integrated into the usual practice of the primary or geriatric medicineIn addition, it is practically absent from the basic training of most doctors and other health professionals. However, doctors should be the first “ prescribers of exercise, ” and medical schools should learn that skeletal muscle is a plastic fabric and adaptable throughout human life.
Concerning the physical educators, should play a more active role in leading, monitoring and evaluating it practice practice in people of any age with a health problem, people with functional diversity or different capacities, especially in the health environment.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget a message as simple as it is important: Exercise isn’t just for it children and young adultsOlder people can to adapt already exercise and deserve to take advantage of itIt’s never too late – and you’re never too old – to contract your muscles.
It seems indisputable is that more research is needed on exercise interventions for older adults, the ‘forgotten ones’ in medical studies. Especially to dispel doubts about safety, efficacy and inherent variability between people in response to exercise.
Understanding this variability is essential to identify the best method therapy (simple or multi-component exercises) and determine the intensity (low, medium or high intensity resistance exercises). The global idea that “exercise is a medicineBut just as not all drugs cure cancer, not all types of exercise (cardiovascular training, strength training, balance) have the same effects on disease and functional capacity.
Be that as it may, the afysical activity it should be considered, with and without a pandemic, as an essential activity with implications for public health. This should be one of the biggest challenges for public health and sanitation policy in the coming years.
* This article is published on The Conversation and reproduced here under the Creative Commons license. Click here to read the original version.
Mikel Izquierdo, Professor and Director of the Department of Health Sciences, Public University of Navarre.