Inactivity can affect health in just two weeks

As the world prepares for the second wave of COVID-19, the flu season and winter, people are also at serious risk from reduced physical activity, especially older adults. Developing a plan to be physically active now will help you stay strong and healthy through the long winter ahead.

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 the harmful and Costly which can be the reduction of physical activity.

The loss of muscle and strength as you age (known as sarcopenia) is something we are all familiar with. We’ve all heard older family members say, “I’m not as strong as I used to be” or “I can’t do that anymore.” But did you know that inactivity can make muscle loss a lot worse?

Effects of inactivity on health

Physical inactivity can be imposed on a person by an acute event such as a broken arm or leg or by being bedridden due to illness. However, reduced physical activity, such as step reduction, is a long-term option that has multiple negative health consequences.

Insulin resistance (a warning sign for 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 also makes a major contribution to poor mental health and social isolation, which can be particularly problematic for older adults.

The health effects of inactivity begin to add up within a few days.

Researchers at McMaster University have shown that reducing daily steps to less than 1,500, similar to the activity level of people who are homebound during this pandemic, for just two weeks can reduce a person’s insulin sensitivity greater by up to a third. The same period of inactivity also led people over 65 to lose up to four percent of their leg muscles.

To make matters worse, once an older person loses muscle, it is much harder to regain. Even when the research subjects returned to their normal daily routines, they did not regain lost muscle. Indeed, older people simply do not have the same ability to recover as younger people.

Regaining muscle requires deliberate effort. So it really is a use or lose case.

Resistance is not useless

As a muscle physiologist with a keen interest in healthy aging, I am pleased to report that it is not all doom and gloom. There are a few things you can do (resistance exercise and eat your protein) to maintain and even build muscle, get stronger, and stay healthy this winter and beyond.

The most effective way to maintain the muscle you have is strength training or resistance exercise, which, simply put, means working out against an additional load. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. If you have access to a gym to use free weights and guided movement machines, that’s great. However, there are many valuable alternatives that you can easily make at home. Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats and lunges, rubber band exercises, and stair climbing are just a few of the options that will help you adhere to the latest World Health Organization physical activity guidelines.

The good news for those who may be put off by the sound of resistance exercise is that doing any exercise with a high degree of exertion will help you get stronger and avoid (at least somewhat) muscle loss. If resistance exercises are not possible for some reason, simply adding a walk, a bike ride, or some lower intensity strength exercises like yoga or Pilates to your daily routine can have significant mental and physical health benefits.

Proteins and muscles

Of course, a healthy diet and avoiding overeating are also critical to staying healthy. Protein-rich foods are particularly important, as they make you feel fuller for longer and provide building blocks for your muscles.

It is generally accepted that older adults need more protein than current guidelines suggest.

A good and easily achievable goal would be to ingest 25 to 40 grams of protein with each meal (about one or two servings the size of the palm of your hand). This equates to approximately 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass each day. Additionally, it may be beneficial to get your protein from animal sources (dairy, meat, fish, and eggs) and vegetables (beans, nuts, seeds, and lentils).

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.

James McKendry, postdoctoral researcher in exercise physiology, muscle protein metabolism, and aging, McMaster University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.