As the world prepares for the second wave of COVID-19, flu season and winter, people are also facing a serious risk associated with reduced physical activity – especially the elderly. Developing a physical activity plan now will help you stay strong and healthy through the coming winter.
While most people are aware of the benefits of physical activity — increased muscle and strength, reduced risk of disease, better quality of life and lower risk of death — we tend to be less aware of how damaging and Dear reduced physical activity may be.
The loss of muscle and strength as you age (called sarcopenia) is something we all know about. We’ve all heard older family members say, “I’m just not as strong as I used to be” or “I can’t do this anymore.” But did you know that inactivity can make muscle loss worse?
Health effects of inactivity
Physical inactivity can be imposed on a person by an acute event such as a broken arm or leg or being bedridden due to illness. However, reduced physical activity, such as step reduction, is a long-term choice that has multiple negative health consequences.
Insulin resistance (a warning sign of developing type 2 diabetes), reduced muscle mass, increased body fat, and poor sleep quality are just some of the health problems caused by physical inactivity. Physical inactivity is also a major factor in poor mental health and social isolationwhich can be particularly problematic for the elderly.
The health effects of inactivity begin to accumulate within days.
Researchers at McMaster University have shown that reducing daily steps to less than 1,500 – similar to the activity level of housebound people during this pandemic – for just two weeks can reduce an elderly person’s insulin sensitivity by up to a third . The same period of inactivity also led people over 65 to lose up to 4% of their leg muscles.
To make matters worse, once an older person loses muscle, it’s much harder to restore it. Even when the research subjects returned to their normal daily routines, they did not regain their lost muscle. Indeed, older people simply do not have the same ability to bounce back as younger people.
Regaining muscle takes deliberate effort. So it really comes down to use it or lose it.
Resistance is not in vain
As a muscle physiologist with a keen interest in healthy aging, I’m happy to report that all is not catastrophic. There are some things you can do — resistance exercise and eating your protein – to keep and even build muscle, get stronger and maintain your health for this winter and beyond.
The most effective way to maintain the muscle you have is through strength training, or resistance exercise, which, in simple terms, means performing work for an additional charge. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. If you have access to a gym to use free weights and motion-guided machines, that’s great. However, there are many valuable alternatives that you can easily make at home. Bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, squats and lunges, rubber band exercises and stair climbing are just some of the options that will help you The latest World Health Organization guidelines for physical activity.
The good news for those who might be put off by the noise of resistance exercise is that doing any exercise with a high degree of effort will help you get stronger and prevent (at least some) muscle loss. If for some reason it is not possible to perform resistance exercises, simply adding a walk, bike ride or lower intensity strength exercises such as yoga or Pilates to your daily routine can have significant body and physical effects. mental health benefits.
Protein and muscle
Of course, a Balanced diet and avoiding overeating are also key to maintaining good health. Protein-rich foods are especially important because they keep you feeling full longer and provide building blocks for your muscles.
It is generally accepted that older people need more protein that current guidelines to suggest.
A good, easily achievable goal would be to eat 25-40 grams of protein at each meal (about one or two palm-sized servings). This equates to approximately 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass each day. Additionally, it can be beneficial to get your protein from both animal (dairy, meat, fish, and egg) and plant (beans, nuts, seeds, and lentils) sources.
Given how quickly inactivity and poor nutrition can sap your strength and health, doing something now is the best way to get through the cold, dark winter and beyond.
