Health and Fitness are Not the Same

According to the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP) to reduce the risk of chronic disease, it is recommended that adults accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. At this point you are likely wondering how you could possibly perform 60 minutes of physical activity consecutively, let alone find a free hour in your busy day. Before these thoughts cause you to stop reading this article, let me emphasize the significance of CSEP’s recommendation and what researchers have discovered about exercise.

The key to health and chronic disease prevention is the accumulation of daily physical activity. For cardiovascular health, activities that use large muscle mass and rhythmic motions such as walking, biking and swimming are great, but this doesn’t mean other forms of physical activity aren’t effective. In fact, any activity that gets you moving will do just fine. I have intentionally been avoiding the use of the term exercise.

Exercise is typically associated with pain, sweat, and (in some cases) misery. By using the term physical activity we encompass things such as gardening, washing the car, dancing, playing with children and even housework. To understand why these activities, even in small amounts, are great for our health we must first understand that multiple short bouts of physical activity provide all the health benefits of a single long bout of physical activity.

Health is defined by the World Health Organization as, “a total physical and psychological sense of well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” Fitness, on the other hand, is tied closely to physical performance and sport, such as the ability to run quickly or for long periods of time. A regular walker or hiker can therefore be every bit as healthy as a marathon runner despite lacking the fitness attributes that allow the runner to complete a race in a limited amount of time.

A more concrete example of this would be comparing blood pressure and blood cholesterol between runners and walkers. Assuming that other lifestyle, diet and genetics are similar, the results of these tests would be similar and doctors would give each a clean bill of health with respect to these measures.

Vigorous physical activity (running and sprinting) provides greater benefits for physical fitness than does moderate physical activity (walking) and burns more calories per unit of time. Resistance exercise (such as weight training, using weight machines and resistance band workouts) increases muscular strength and endurance and maintains or increases muscle mass. These benefits are seen in adolescents, adults and older adults who perform resistance exercises on two or more days per week.

It is important to recognize that the intensity of exercise is relative to the individual and not the activity. Thus brisk walking for an inactive individual with excess weight may be the same relative intensity as jogging for an avid runner. Thus a heavier individual should expect to experience elevated breathing and heart rate at lower intensities than a lighter or fitter individual.

Physical activity can be accumulated through three to six five-10 minute bouts over the course of a day. Consider incorporating both longer bouts and shorter accumulated bouts of activity into your day to increase your odds of achieving 60 minutes of physical activity daily. It does not matter if physical activity comes from household chores, a walk, a hike or a run. Remember, what matters is accumulation of physical activity and every step counts. Changing our minds about what counts as exercise can be motivating, rewarding and when you realize that all activity counts, you might just have the best kept yard and cleanest house on the block.

World Health Organization definition of Health

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Upward Spiral: Depression, Worry and Weight Gain

In the previous post I outlined the similarities between the mindset of a person who is depressed and the mindset of a chronic dieter. In this post I will continue to shed light on the mood and body weight connection.

Biologically there is a distinct discrepancy between what our bodies are designed for (hunting and gathering) and what our environment is like today. In other words, our stone-age genes are incompatible with our space-age environment.

Physical consequences of inactivity and overconsumption have flourished. Less obvious is how our change in lifestyle affects our mood and overall sense of happiness. Although I am using the term depression, I am referring to feelings of depression rather than a clinically depressed state. Depressed feelings, for the purpose of this series of blog posts, may include unhappiness, loneliness, worry, anxiety and others. Ultimately it is an overall sense of unease that prevents you from feeling good about yourself.

Why is ‘feeling good’ so critical to weight loss success?

In the most extreme case, stress, anxiety, worry, and feelings of inadequacy can lead to outright depression. Each of us has felt blue at one time or another but that is not to be confused with persisting and deepening sadness characterized by clinical depression. Much like the term pre-diabetes refers to a metabolic state that affects your health prior to meeting the clinical definition of diabetes, negative mood can affect your physical and mental health long before reaching clinical levels of depression or anxiety.

Much like obesity, the incidence of depression has increased substantially.

According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that:

• by 2020 major depression will be the disease imposing the second greatest burden of ill health worldwide; close behind heart disease.

Further, 40 years ago depression primarily struck people in their 40s and 50s. Today, depression strikes people in their mid-20s. Worse, if you’ve experienced depression, odds are that it will come back and each time it comes back, the likelihood of it returning increases.

Is depression causing obesity or is obesity causing depression?

This is the question that I will explore in my next post. Anecdotal evidence suggests that feeling less than well ‘now’ leaves little ambition to eat well and be active in order to improve health for the future.

When we don’t feel well in the present moment we tend to seek comforting, rewarding or soothing behaviors that result in instant relief. Eating high calorie and highly satisfying foods certainly serve this function. As I’ve indicated before, the reason you emotionally eat is because it works… as does plunking ourselves on the couch for the evening.

Note: Approximately 50% of those suffering from Binge Eating Disorder also suffer from depression.

What do you think? Are depression or other mood disorders causing weight gain or is weight gain causing depression. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.