- Pacific
We are constantly bombarded with gloom and doom news stories warning us that heart
disease is America's number one killer, followed closely by cancer. What's more, there's a
worldwide epidemic of diabetes and fear mongers are also warning that swine flu, H1N1, is
lurking around every corner about to plunge us into a pandemic. But what is really
the biggest threat to your health? According to epidemiologist and researcher Steven
Blair, the gravest public health problem of the 21st century is Americans' physical
inactivity and it poses the greatest risk of ill health to Americans. Simply put, sitting
on your butt instead of moving your body in your daily life and exercising can be deadly.
Unfortunately, an enormous number of Americans, around 50 million, are living sedentary
lives. That puts these coach potatoes at increased risk of health problems and early
death, Blair recently said in an address to the American Psychological Association's (APA)
117th Annual Convention held in Toronto. "Over the past few decades, we have largely
engineered the need for physical
activity out of the daily lives of most people in industrialized societies," he
stated.
Blair pointed to research showing that around 25 to 35 percent of American adults are
inactive. They work sedentary jobs, engage in no regular physical activity program, are
generally inactive around the house and most don't even do their own yard work.
"Given that these individuals are doubling their risk of developing numerous health
conditions compared with those who are even moderately active and fit, we're looking at a
major public health
problem," Blair said in a statement to the media.
A professor of exercise science and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina's
Arnold School of Public Health, he is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on
exercise and its health benefits. Blair was the senior scientific editor of the 1996 U.S.
Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.
His extensive research comes involves the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), an
ongoing study started in 1970 which includes more than 80,000 people. In addition to
keeping track of the participants medical histories, scientists periodically have measured
the participants' body composition and body mass index (BMI). Each volunteer in the study also
underwent a stress test.
The results, Blair told the APA, show that the fitness level of the research subjects
has turned out to be a significant predictor of life span. For example, a follow-up study
of 40,842 ACLS participants concluded a poor fitness level accounted for about 16 percent
of all deaths in both men and women -- and these are deaths that most likely would have
been avoided if these people had simply spent about half an hour a day walking. What's
more, this percentage of deaths was significantly higher than when other risk factors were
considered, including obesity, smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes. The ACLS also found
that men who were only moderately fit lived six years longer than men who would qualify as
sedentary couch potatoes.
Blair revealed that exercise can help beat breast cancer, too. An
examination of 14,811 women patients in the ACLS showed that those who very fit were 55
percent less likely to die from breast cancer
than women who were not in good shape. This huge reduction in breast cancer deaths was
calculated after the researchers controlled for BMI, smoking, family history of breast
cancer and other possible risk factors. Blair also explained in his APA presentation that
recent emerging evidence shows exercise is good for brain health and can delay the mind's
decline.
"We need numerous changes to promote more physical activity for all, including public
policies, changes in the health care system, promoting activity in educational settings
and worksites, and social and physical environmental changes. We need more communities
where people feel comfortable walking," Blair said in a statement to the press.
"I believe psychologists can help develop better lifestyle change interventions to
help people be more active via the Internet and other technological methods." (naturalnews,
9.07.2009, S. L. Baker) http://www.naturalnews.com/026986_health_cancer_disease.html
For more information:
http://www.apa.org/releases/sedenta...
Eastern