HEALTH l a i c e & BeautySp ©EuroWeeklyNews
31 JANUARY - 6 FEBRUARY 2019
It all adds up
HE prospect of doing a large amount of exercise can sometimes be off-putting, and the more we avoid it, the guiltier we feel, creating a cycle where exercise can seem like a chore rather than something to be enjoyed. But one scientist says that instead of focusing on creating large goals and then feeling bad if we don’t achieve them, we should actually just take small steps towards fitting a little more activity into things we naturally do every day. Michelle Segar, a psychologist and director of the University of Michigan Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Centre, told American radio station NPR, that we place too much importance on thinking of exercise as an organised activity which must involve the gym, running, Spandex, or sweating. Segar explains that literally every time we move our bodies we are benefiting our health, whether that movement constitutes tradi-
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150 minutes of moderately intense exercise is recommended.
tional forms of exercise or not. She says: “The research does now show that basically all movement counts, and anything is better than nothing,” adding, “I’ve been astounded that even up until today, very educated people don't know don’t believe - that walking actually ‘counts’ as valid exercise.” Loretta DiPietro, exercise research scientist at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, told the same station that scientists measure how an activity affects our body using the value MET (metabolic equivalent). She explains this
means that any and all activity has a rating, and some routine tasks we perform on a near daily basis without considering them exercise have a higher MET value than some workouts. DiPietro says exercise that is moderate to intense will have a value of between three and six METs, both of which are covered by mopping (3.5 METs), or slowly climbing the stairs (four METs). Climbing the stairs fast uses nine METs, more than line dancing at eight. And given that we are told to take in 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise a week, it is easy to see how normal activities could easily add up. DiPietro says this means instead of focusing on increasing levels of organised exercise, if you are unlikely to actually stick to this it may be better to just slightly increase the level of activities we already perform. This could mean taking the stairs instead of the lift or parking further away when shopping.
STAIR WALKING: Scientists say this could be as good as other exercise.