Even casual walking for an extra 2 minutes each hour may help prolong life
Replacing sedentary activity with light activity linked with improved survival
2015-05-01
(Press-News.org) Highlight
In an observational study that followed participants for an average of just under 3 years, a "trade-off" of sedentary activity with low-intensity activity was not beneficial, but a trade-off of 2 minutes/hour of sedentary activity with an equal amount of light-intensity activity was associated with 33% lower risk of dying in the general population and a 41% lower risk of dying in the individuals with chronic kidney disease.
Previous research suggests that sitting for long periods of time may increase the risk of disease and early death.
Washington, DC (April 30, 2015) -- Casual walking for as little as an extra 2 minutes per hour throughout the day, rather than sitting, may have a significant benefit on longevity. The findings come from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week. Assuming 16 awake hours per day, achieving the currently recommended duration of moderate/vigorous activities would account for only 2% of the total awake time. This leaves considerable time for low-intensity activities--such as standing--or light-intensity activities--such as casual walking--that might provide additional benefits.
Srinivasan Beddhu, MD (University of Utah) and his colleagues analyzed information on 3626 participants in the 2003-2004 National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relative importance of low- and light-intensity activities in the general population and in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The average follow-up of participants was just under 3 years. "We hoped to understand whether lower duration of sedentary activities with higher duration of low- or light-intensity activities is associated with survival benefit," explained Dr. Beddhu.
Using sophisticated statistical techniques, the researchers found that a "trade-off" of sedentary activity with low-intensity activity was not beneficial, but a trade-off of 2 minutes/hour of sedentary activity with an equal amount of light-intensity activity was associated with 33% lower risk of death in the general population and a 41% lower risk of death in the CKD population. The investigators noted that participants spent more than half the time in sedentary activities. Those with CKD were even more sedentary and spent more than two-thirds of the time in sedentary activities.
"Sitting for a long time strongly increases the risk of death. Our findings suggest that replacing sedentary duration with an increase in light activity might confer a survival benefit," said Dr. Beddhu.
INFORMATION:
Study co-authors include Guo Wei, MS, Robin Marcus, PT, PhD, Michel Chonchol, MD, and Tom Greene, PhD.
Disclosures: The authors reported no financial disclosures.
The article, entitled "Light Intensity Physical Activities and Mortality in the US General Population and CKD Subpopulation," will appear online at http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/ on April 30. 2015.
The content of this article does not reflect the views or opinions of The American Society of Nephrology (ASN). Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the author(s). ASN does not offer medical advice. All content in ASN publications is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions, or adverse effects. This content should not be used during a medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health care provider if you have any questions about a medical condition, or before taking any drug, changing your diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment. Do not ignore or delay obtaining professional medical advice because of information accessed through ASN. Call 911 or your doctor for all medical emergencies.
Founded in 1966, and with more than 15,000 members, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) leads the fight against kidney disease by educating health professionals, sharing new knowledge, advancing research, and advocating the highest quality care for patients.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-05-01
A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers concludes that most U.S. clinical registries that collect data on patient outcomes are substandard and lack critical features necessary to render the information they collect useful for patients, physicians and policy makers.
Findings of the study, published ahead of print April 24 in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, reveal poor data monitoring and reporting that researchers say are hurting national efforts to study disease, guide patient choice of optimal treatments, formulate rational health policies and track in a meaningful ...
2015-04-30
"The word, virus, connotes morbidity and mortality, but that bad reputation is not universally deserved," said Marilyn Roossinck, PhD, Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and Biology at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park. "Viruses, like bacteria, can be important beneficial microbes in human health and in agriculture," she said. Her review of the current literature on beneficial viruses appeared ahead of print April 24 in the Journal of Virology, which is published by the American Society for Microbiology.
In sharp contrast to ...
2015-04-30
Scientists require high-resolution imaging of plant cells to study everything from fungal infections to reproduction in maize. These images are captured with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), where an electron microscope focuses beams of electrons to increase magnification of objects. SEM is a common technique for all fields of science.
However, preparing objects for SEM and other common imaging methods can compromise delicate biological samples. Freeze-drying of material, electron beams, and vacuum pressure in the microscope can all result in cell damage, which is ...
2015-04-30
New research has shown that children who display increasing levels of inattention at the age of seven are at risk of worse academic outcomes in their GCSE examinations.
Researchers at the Universities of Nottingham and Bristol studied more than 11,000 children as part of the research which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
The findings of the research have a range of implications for parents, teachers and clinicians.
The research was led by Kapil ...
2015-04-30
If you're in the market for a new car, and especially if you have a trade-in, the latest research from the USC Marshall School of Business marketing department suggests you aren't getting the deal you think you are getting.
New research from USC Marshall School of Business associate professors of marketing Anthony Dukes and Sivaramakrishnan Siddarth shows that a consumer with a trade-in actually forks over more money to the dealer than consumers without a trade-in.
"The Informational Role of Product Trade-Ins for Pricing Durable Goods" is forthcoming in the Journal ...
2015-04-30
Results to be published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues suggest that having short-term household debt -- credit cards and overdue bills -- increases depressive symptoms. The association is particularly strong among unmarried people, people reaching retirement age and those who are less well educated, according to a new study by lead author Lawrence Berger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
These are the first results to show the impact of different types of debt on depression and their effects on different sectors of the US population. Little evidence ...
2015-04-30
Scientists are using a variety of buoys and autonomous underwater vehicles to record and archive sounds from marine mammals and fish species in the western North Atlantic through a new listening network known as the U.S. Northeast Passive Acoustic Sensing Network (NEPAN).
Stretching from the northern Gulf of Maine to the New York Bight in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, NEPAN provides year-round, long-term information on the presence and physical distribution of vocal whales, dolphins and porpoises and some fish species. The archived and near-real-time data comes from recorders ...
2015-04-30
Researchers at Aalto University (Finland) and Amherst College (USA) have observed a point-like monopole in a quantum field itself for the first time. This discovery connects to important characteristics of the elusive monopole magnet. The results were just published in Science magazine.
The researchers performed an experiment in which they manipulated a gas of rubidium atoms prepared in a nonmagnetic state near absolute zero temperature. Under these extreme conditions they were able to create a monopole in the quantum-mechanical field that describes the gas.
'In this ...
2015-04-30
LA JOLLA -- A study tying the aging process to the deterioration of tightly packaged bundles of cellular DNA could lead to methods of preventing and treating age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, as detailed April 30, 2015, in Science.
In the study, scientists at the Salk Institute and the Chinese Academy of Science found that the genetic mutations underlying Werner syndrome, a disorder that leads to premature aging and death, resulted in the deterioration of bundles of DNA known as heterochromatin.
The discovery, made possible through ...
2015-04-30
HOUSTON - (April 30, 2015) - With the Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2000 coming to an end in 2015, and the new Sustainable Development Goals now in the works to establish a set of targets for the future of international development, experts at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new tool to show why neglected tropical diseases, the most common infections of the world's poor, should be an essential component of these goals.
Using World Health Organization data for the number people at risk of parasitic worm infections in each ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Even casual walking for an extra 2 minutes each hour may help prolong life
Replacing sedentary activity with light activity linked with improved survival
