More About Being A Couch Potato

We did not intend to write another blog about being a couch potato, but the popular media is jumping on this subject in a big way, and we could not resist jumping in. Our Sunday paper had an article on the subject that Americans engage in precious little exercise. There is a quote attributed to Edward Archer a nutrition and obesity researcher at the University of Alabama. It is noteworthy.

"How you spend your day determines whether you store your food as fat or store your food in your muscle, healthfully."

We love this quote. It is the triple distilled essence of the obesity epidemic. The other prongs of course are what and how much we eat and why we eat the way that we do.

The essence of this study published in The Mayo Clinic Proceedings was that obese women averaged about 11 seconds a day of vigorous exercise, while men and women of normal weight did better but still logged only about 2.5 to 4 hours of moderate exercise a week.

In summary the data sketch a nearly supine population with days marked by long hours of sedentary behavior, particularly for those who are overweight or obese. "We have engineered physical activity out of our daily lives and that's causing the health disparity that we have in this country"

Our experience in running wellness programs has been that participants take to meditation like a duck takes to water. In general they are good about changing their eating habits, but so often we hear excuses about why they have been too busy to exercise.

It is an uphill battle to get people to change their attitude about being a couch potato, but for the good of their health change it they must.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Are You A Couch Potato?

This blog is based upon a very important study that was just reported by the press. We are excited about this information because it reinforces the principles that we teach in our wellness programs.

Most people assume that they can be as inactive as they want as long as they follow the recommendation of the government and do 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. This is not so.

Researchers have found that it is also important not to spend the rest of your time being a couch potato. The study included 2,286 people age 60 an over. The conclusion was that being sedentary will lead to problems "independent of time spent in moderate or vigorous activity." People who replace even half an hour of sedentary time with 30 minutes of light activity can improve their health.

The bottom line is that a moving body is less likely to get rusty that a sedentary body. Obviously everyone needs and is entitled to some down time. Just do not make it most of the time when you are not exercising.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net