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Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

bbc.co.uk

41–50 of 127 posts

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#41
post #17
post #2

Normal exercise will not cause weight loss - countless studies have shown that. But it will make you healthier, so it's worth it anyway.

"Exercise more" in reference to weight loss is also often promoted by fast or processed food companies, in an effort to divert blame for either not displaying nutritional information or making it misleading.

running does use up calories. timing your exercise so that it's just before a fixed portion of a meal means you have used more calories than if you had not - and you still feel full. the surprising part is how little of a difference running makes, but it does make a difference.

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#43
post #23

I think the problem is that our civilization is built in the idea of comfort and economic specialization. I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. So we either sit thinking about civilized work, or do short but very intense physical activity to compensate the accumulation of stress. I…

> but My ankles Startes swelling after two hours

Try it with an anti-fatigue mat, they do wonders. I think, it takes about eight weeks to get used to the new position. Definitely talk to a doctor regarding the swelling first though.

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#44
post #23

I think the problem is that our civilization is built in the idea of comfort and economic specialization. I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. So we either sit thinking about civilized work, or do short but very intense physical activity to compensate the accumulation of stress. I…

> I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. Isn't that pretty similar to the lifestyle of a hunter? Short periods of very intense activity separated by long periods of inactivity?

A common method seems to have been to just run after the animals slowly, so they can't rest but don't run yet, until they die from exhaustion. Our heat dissipation system is better than most animals, so it works better when it's hot. It's possible to do it alone, and hunt big animals with only a knife to kill them in the end, if you know what you're doing. However, it means you have to move for a long time.

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#45
post #23

I think the problem is that our civilization is built in the idea of comfort and economic specialization. I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. So we either sit thinking about civilized work, or do short but very intense physical activity to compensate the accumulation of stress. I…

>I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour.

I disagree strongly with this part of what you're saying.

This seems exactly what human civilisation has traditionally done: conserve physical energy until it's the right time to hunt, do some very intensive hunting, spend a lot of mental energy figuring out better tools and systems.

The article measures activity as: cycling, running, swimming, etc. That's intensive activity. Missing that out had a higher risk of death.

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#46
The disconnect between what our bodies are built for and the lives we're living in 2015 is the source of many modern diseases. Daniel Lieberman [1] has an excellent book on the matter called The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease [2]. Reading it was a deep realization for me that I needed to change my way of life and forced me to eat better (more fruits, vegetables, slashing everything processed from my diet) and exercise more.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lieberman [2] http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-Human-Body-Evolution/dp/0307...

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#47
post #23

I think the problem is that our civilization is built in the idea of comfort and economic specialization. I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. So we either sit thinking about civilized work, or do short but very intense physical activity to compensate the accumulation of stress. I…

> I don't think our bodies are prepared to that sort of pattern where you stay inactive for 5 hours, while your brain is still very active, and stop to run non stop for 1 hour. Isn't that pretty similar to the lifestyle of a hunter? Short periods of very intense activity separated by long periods of inactivity?

Here are the recommendations from the Wikipedia page on Paleolithic lifestyle [1]:

    - Adopt a Paleolithic diet as much as possible: plenty of fruit,
      fish, vegetables, nuts, and meat while avoiding most forms of
      food not in existence in paleolithic time. It implies avoiding
      all processed food, and in particular junk food and food with a
      high glycemic load, such as sweets and cultivated crops like
      potatoes and cereal grains (in particular wheat).
    - Exercise frequently, but with a variety of durations and
      intensities (including rest periods) rather than doing always
      the same, extended routines in a gym or while jogging.
    - Perform a variety of complex "natural movements" (e.g. walking,
      running, jumping, crawling, climbing, carrying, throwing,
      swimming) that use the whole body rather than artificially
      constrained exercises that focus on specific muscles (like those
      afforded by most gym equipment).
    - Maximize contact with nature, e.g. by keeping plants, gardening,
      working with animals, hiking in the woods, or climbing trees (as
      also proposed by the biophilia philosophy).
    - Use a minimum of clothes and don't wear shoes: exposure to heat,
      cold, pressure, and other natural forces strengthens rather than
      weakens the body.
    - Expose yourself regularly to the sun or at least to natural
      light, to get sufficient vitamin D and prevent depression.
    - Try to sleep at least 8 hours a day, preferably in line with
      natural day-night rhythms (though people in pre-industrial
      societies do not sleep in contiguous blocks - see anthropology
      of sleep and segmented sleep).
    - Spend sufficient time relaxing, playing, and just "being in the
      present", without worrying about later.
    - Reduce overall levels of stress; avoid overworking in favor of
      downshifting and simple living.
    - Allow contact with dirt: soil contains plenty of beneficial
      bacteria that strengthen immunity. Eat fermented foods like
      sauerkraut, kim chi, kombucha, etc. Lifelong exposure to a
      variety of microbes may actually be necessary to prevent
      allergies and autoimmune diseases, as proposed by the hygiene
      hypothesis.
    - Rear children the way hunter-gatherers do: extended
      breast-feeding, carrying of babies on the body, co-sleeping,
      while allowing older children to play and explore
      autonomously.
    - Sit with legs level with rear end (essentially, in the squatting
      position), as people in indigenous tribes do.
    - Socialize and interact closely with a small group of real
      friends, instead of staying alone or "networking" with thousands
      of superficial acquaintances.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_lifestyle

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#49
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That's going to be have a pretty huge donut then Not really. One hour on the treadmill burns about 600 calories or so. A cream filled donut the gas station next door to me sells is listed at 630 calories.

I would say a 630 calorie donut is pretty huge. After looking at the calorie info for a bunch of Tim Hortons donuts, the average seems to be around 250 calories.

> I would say a 630 calorie donut is pretty huge

Therein lies the rub: most people can't fathom they're eating way too much since they feel like it's normal because habit and social.

Re: Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'

#50
post #6
post #2

Normal exercise will not cause weight loss - countless studies have shown that. But it will make you healthier, so it's worth it anyway.

>Normal exercise will not cause weight loss What do you define "normal exercise" as? You cannot break the 2nd law of thermodynamics: if you calories in is less than your calories burned you must lose weight.

Your body / unconscious brain is perfectly capable of

- making you intensely crave specific calorific foods,

- making you prefer the taste of higher-energy over lower-energy foods when offered a choice,

- demanding your gut absorb more of the calories you normally consume,

- making more frugal use of the calories you normally consume,

- throwing you into hibernation mode, making you sleepy, lazy, and disinclined to move.

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