JUST MOVE IT.

Admittedly the phrase “JUST MOVE IT” doesn’t carry the flair and universal brand recognition of the Nike “JUST DO IT” slogan.  However, the “JUST MOVE IT” catchphrase may carry an even more important message to the American public.

Sitting is the new smoking

You’ve probably heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking.” The scientific evidence continues to pile up indicating sedentary behaviors are detrimental to our society’s health. The fact is, American’s spend more than half their waking time in sedentary behaviors and this inactivity is causing serious problems.

• According to the CDC, physical inactivity can contribute to a variety of chronic conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancer.
• A national study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that prolonged, uninterrupted bouts of inactivity (e.g., sitting at a desk for extended periods) are associated with all-cause mortality. The study goes further to suggest that interrupting sedentary time every 30 minutes may protect against the health risks of sedentariness.

Unfortunately, more than half of American adults have one or more preventable chronic disease due to, in part, NOT MOVING.

Recommended Guidelines

In 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services released its latest Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.  For adults, the guidelines indicate that substantial health benefits can be achieved if you do:

• 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 (1.25 hours) minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, and
• Moderate or greater intensity muscle-strengthening activity two or more times a week.

The reality is that only about 20% of American adults meet these recommended guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity!

The imperative: JUST MOVE IT

The evidence is clear; we need to move!  Just 30 minutes, five times a week or 20 minutes, six times a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, along with a couple of bouts of muscle-strengthening sessions a week will produce health improvements.

If you don’t have a 20-30 minute block of time to spare, you can achieve health benefits with bouts of moderate-to-vigorous activity of any length of time (even less than 10 minutes).

So, to improve your health you can “JUST DO IT” like LeBron, Serena, or Odell, or you can simply “JUST MOVE IT” like you!

Until next time, best & healthy regards,

Steve