By Rachel Sunter, Health Columnist
One look at some of Canada’s top athletes featured in Vancouver 2010 ads made my brows furrow with envy of such a lifestyle. They’re toned, make-up-less and practically glowing with the radiance of working out for money, and eating well to boot.
I mistakenly assumed they must live longer, healthier lives than normal people.
As it happens, however, superstar athletes actually have similar life expectancies to you and me. How is this possible? How can bodies so determined and well-endowed wilt like any other flower?
It’s because of our body’s ‘reversibility’, or the way it adapts to a given lifestyle. If you stop asking your muscles to work for you, they slack off, and quickly. Even for a top athlete, within weeks of inactivity muscles deteriorate and cardio levels recede.
All that work for nothing, as far as longevity goes.
The key to living long is an everyday lifestyle that balances relaxation, nutrition and activity. Staying moderately active until the day you die is much more important than a limited bout of peak performance at some point in your life. ‘Active’ doesn’t mean running on the treadmill every morning. It means using your muscles throughout the day.
In fact, a recent study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that spending long hours reading or sitting in front of the computer can hurt your health in the long run, no matter how many hours you’re killing at the gym. The study looks at long periods of sitting as an independent health hazard, regardless of the presence of daily exercise. Researchers say that long periods of bodily stillness trigger chemical changes that are harmful to your health in the long run.
Following these theories, getting up to get a snack or walking upstairs can make all the difference when it comes to keeping your body at an active level throughout the day. Just like taking a mental time-out when things get too stressful, researchers are suggesting you remember to take activity time-outs when things get too still.
National Geographic writer Dan Buettner birthed project Blue Zone, a worldwide project that investigates ‘blue zones’ – regions where people have the longest life expectancies. According to their findings so far, people who live extra long don’t stay fit by ‘working out’ per se, but rather by doing simple things such as walking, using their hands, bending, stretching and doing a variety of activities that engage their bodies.
Contrary to the Western trend toward retirement, older people in other countries keep busy, involved and active (and happy) until the day they die. Their bodies appear to stay young because they keep acting young, and not the other way around.
Implementing this knowledge to your lifestyle may mean breaking a few habits. For starters, keep tabs on the clock to measure long hours spent on your bum. Chances are you could do with a glass of water, a snack, or a breath of fresh air. It’s not hard to find excuses to get up and move around.
To see some real centurions (people who live to be 100 years or more) in action check out Buettner’s video “How to live to be 100+” at www.ted.com.
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