Daily activities such as DIY or gardening may prolong life by up to 30% in the 60+ age group, a report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed.
As any committed gardener will confirm, seeing the first shoots of life emerge after the winter months can provide a deep sense of satisfaction.
But gardeners now have another reason to feel rather smug – regular gardening or DIY can cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke, and prolong life by as much as 30% among the 60-plus age group, according to a study of almost 4,000 60-year-olds in Stockholm.
The research found that even those who spent their retirement training for marathons were not at less risk than the green-fingered group. Gardening – voted pensioners' favourite pastime in a recent study byAge UK – provided as many health benefits as regular exercise.
The 60-year-olds who were most active on a daily basis had a 27% lower risk of a heart attack or stroke and a 30% reduced risk of death from all causes, irrespective of how much regular formal exercise was taken.
"Our findings are particularly important for older adults, because individuals in this age group tend, compared with other age groups, to spend a relatively greater proportion of their active day performing [routine activities] as they often find it difficult to achieve recommended exercise intensity levels," the scientists wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Over a 12-year period the team, led by Dr Elin Ekblom-Bak at Karolinska University hospital's department of medicine, asked 60-year-olds for information on diet, smoking and alcohol intake in addition to information on whether they did regular activities such as gardening, DIY, car maintenance and blackberry picking. The researchers also carried out lab tests and physical examinations.
At the start of the study, those who had an active daily life were at much less risk of heart attacks – even if they did not exercise – than those with low levels of daily activity. They also had smaller waists, lower levels of potentially harmful blood fats, and lower glucose, insulin and clotting factor levels in men, high levels of which are linked to a raised heart attack and stroke risk.
The benefits of regular activity continued through the course of the study. During the 12.5-year follow-up period, 476 of the participants had their first heart attack and 383 died from various causes. Those who exercised regularly, but were not routinely physically active, were also at less risk of cardiovascular problems, and those who exercised regularly and were active on a daily basis were at the least risk of all.
The study suggests gardening and DIY can be as good as exercise for the over-60s because they increase overall energy expenditure – prolonged sitting drives down metabolic rate to the bare minimum, while standing up and physical activity increase it. The study went on to explain that sitting down can disrupt the skeletal muscle's normal hormone production, with potential negative impacts on other body organs and tissues.
Dr Gavin Sandercock, reader in sport and exercise science at the University of Essex, said: "'This study is excellent news for large swaths of the population who might not want to run, swim or go to the gym because it clearly shows that even moderate, non-exercise activity like gardening benefits the health of older adults."
But he warned that younger people and children still had to be encouraged to do vigorous exercise like fast walking, running, swimming and cycling. "While the amounts reported here are OK for older people, children still need to do an hour of activity every day to be healthy and that needs to be hard enough to make them breathe hard and preferably feel hot."
Dr Tim Chico, senior clinical lecturer and honorary consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield/Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said the more active a person was throughout their lives, the lower their risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
"The message I take from this study is simple," he said. "If you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, be more active. Don't sit down for long periods; get up on your feet and do something you enjoy that involves moving around."
譯文
《英國運動醫學雜志》上發表的一篇報道顯示，像手工制作或園藝這樣的日常活動有可能使60歲以上的人的壽命延長30%。
據英國《衛報》報道，任何熱衷園藝的人都會同意，漫長的冬天過后，看見新芽萌發的那一刻，他們會感到很滿足。
但是現在園丁們又有另外一個值得神氣的理由：一項針對斯德哥爾摩市近4000名60歲老人的研究表明，經常從事園藝或手工制作可以降低心臟病發作或中風的風險，還能使60歲以上的人的壽命延長30%。
研究發現，即使是那些退休后跑馬拉松的人，患病的風險也沒有比從事園藝的人低。慈善機構AgeUK最近的一項研究表明，園藝是退休老人最喜愛的消遣。園藝同定期鍛煉一樣對人體健康有諸多益處。
無論常期、正式運動量有多大，60歲老人中每天最活力十足的，心臟病發作或中風的風險會降低27%，因各種原因死亡的風險降低30%。
“我們的發現對老年人來說尤其重要，因為和其他年齡段的人相比，他們很難達到專家建議的運動強度水平，因此習慣于花相對更多的時間在日常活動上。”科學家在《英國運動醫學雜志》上寫道。
瑞典卡羅林斯卡大學醫院醫學部的艾琳（Elin Ekblom-Bak）博士帶領一支隊伍，歷時12年，詢問了一群60歲老人的各種信息，包括飲食、吸煙、酒精攝入以及是否有參加如園藝、手工制作、汽車維修和黑莓采摘一類的定期活動。研究者還進行了實驗室測試，對參與者進行身體檢查。
實驗初始，那些平時活力十足的人，即使平常不鍛煉，心臟病發作的風險也也比平時活動少的人低得多。同時，他們腰圍更小，潛在有害的血脂更少，男性葡萄糖、胰島素和凝血因子水平更低，這些物質水平高的時候會提高人心臟病發作和中風的風險。
在整個研究過程中，定期鍛煉的益處一直都有體現。在12年半的隨訪期內，476名參與者心臟病發作過，383名因為各種原因死亡。那些有定期鍛煉，平時卻懶于活動的人，出現心血管問題可能性小；那些有定期鍛煉，且每天活力十足的人在所有人中患病風險最低。
這項研究表明對于60歲以上的老人來說，園藝、手工制作和鍛煉一樣有益，因為它們都能增加整體身體能耗。長時間靜坐會讓身體代謝率降至最低，而站立和體力活動能提高代謝率。研究還深入解釋說，靜坐會擾亂骨骼肌正常激素生成，對身體其他器官組織有潛在的負面影響。
英國埃塞克斯大學體育和運動科學高級講師加文（Gavin Sandercock）博士說道：“這項研究對很多可能不愿意跑步、游泳或去體育館鍛煉的人來說是大好消息，因為研究清楚地表明，即使像園藝這樣溫和、非運動性的活動都有益于老年人的健康。”
但是他也警告說，還是要鼓勵年輕人和兒童進行劇烈運動，如快走、跑步、游泳和騎自行車。“盡管報道中提到的運動量適合老年人，兒童要保持健康還是得每天運動一小時，增加運動強度，用力呼吸，最好能夠全身發熱。”
英國謝菲爾德大學高級臨床講師，謝菲爾德教學醫院心臟病科名譽顧問蒂姆（Tim Chico）博士表示，一個人一輩子越是充滿活力，患心血管疾病的風險就越低。
“我從這項研究中得到的啟示很簡單，”他說道，“如果你想要降低患心臟病的風險，就得更有活力一點。不要長時間靜坐；起身做些喜歡的事情，到處轉一轉。” |
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