Thursday, February 20, 2014

Behaviors That Lead to Chronic Disease

Have you ever wondered how your seemingly harmless habits and behaviors can affect you in the long run?  We live in a society that has a reactive healthcare system rather than proactive or preventative.  Additionally, there is a lot of talk regarding universal healthcare and the Affordable Care Act.  As universal healthcare, or some form of it, is implemented, the World health Organization believes that there has to be a greater emphasis on personal responsibility.  Regardless of the type of healthcare system that eventually materializes, only 10% of premature death can be attributed to the healthcare system and only 30% is attributed to genetics.  That leaves a whopping 60% attributed to preventable and controllable risk-factors, and in the long run, YOU.  The top four of those preventable and controllable risk-factors (as illustrated by the chart, along with the associated consequences) are smoking, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, and my personal favorite, physical inactivity.

One of my favorite quotes is “Prevention is always nearly less costly, more effective, and more humane than intervention after a crisis has taken hold”.  In other words, it is less costly and more effective to prevent rather than treat.  Even with the recommended amount of cardiovascular  exercise, which is moderate-intensity for 30 minutes, five days per week, or at a high-intensity for 20 minutes, three days per week, it is thought that excessive inactivity can lead to, and exacerbate, chronic disease.  Inactivity adversely affects almost every system of the body increasing mortality by 30%.  The best means to counter sedentary dysfunction, and reduce healthcare costs due to inactivity, is to proactively engage in simple physical activity, such as walking and standing, throughout the course of your day. 

Booth, F. W., Roberts, C. K., & Laye, M. J. (2012). Lack of exercise is a major risk factor of  chronic disease. Comprehensive Physiology, 2, 1143-1211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c110025. 

Haskell, W. L., Lee, I., Pate, R. R., Powell, K. E., Blair, S. N., Franklin, B. A., . . . Bauman, A. (2007). Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 39(8), 1423-1434. 

Lewis, K., & Burd-Sharps, S. (2010). The measure of America 2010-2011: Mapping risks and resilience.  New York, NY: New York University Press. 

Owen, N., Bauman, A., & Brown, W. (2009). Too much sitting: A novel and important predictor  of chronic disease risk?  British Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(2), 81-83. 

World Health Organization. (2000). The world health report 2000: Health systems: Improving performance.  Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.  

Dan Mikeska, M.S., CES, PES
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 20, 2014 at 6:55 PM

    I am a believer in the 10 000 steps per day movement. We need to make a conscious effort to add movement/exercise to our daily routines.

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  2. SullyFebruary 24, 2014 at 12:11 PM

    Excellent information you've shared here Dan and team, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dan MikeskaFebruary 25, 2014 at 9:56 AM

    David,
    Thank you for your comment! I believe someone on Facebook stated it appropriately “The diagram says it all”. If we connect the dots from the behaviors to the chronic outcomes, hopefully it will spark some preventative action.

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  4. Dan MikeskaFebruary 25, 2014 at 10:03 AM

    Naren,
    It is no surprise that active individuals have up to a 30% lower risk for mortality (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2008). Adults (18-65) should engage in moderate-intensity aerobic activity for 30-minutes, five days per week (Haskell et al., 2007), and youth should engage in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity on a daily basis (Strong et al., 2005).
    As far as steps per day, 10,000 is the average. Less than 5000 steps/day is considered sedentary, and 11,000-13,000 is needed for weight management (Choi, Pak, Choi, & Choi, 2007; Tudor-Locke et al., 2008). Obviously, a higher volume of activity results in increased benefits.

    Haskell, W. L., Lee, I., Pate, R. R., Powell, K. E., Blair, S. N., Franklin, B. A., . . . Bauman, A.(2007). Physical activity and public health: Updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 39(8), 1423-1434.

    Choi, B. C. K., Pak, A. W. P., Choi, J. C. L., & Choi, E. C. L. ( 2007). Daily step goal of 10,000 steps: A literature review. Clinical & Investigative Medicine, 30(3), E146-E151.

    Strong, W. B., Malina, R. M., Blimkie, C. J., Daniels, S. R., Dishman, R. K., Gutin, B., . . . Trudeau, F. (2005). Evidence based physical activity for school-age youth. Journal of Pediatrics, 146(6), 732-737. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2005.01.055

    Tudor-Locke, C., Bassett Jr., D. R., Rutherford, W. J., Ainsworth, B. E., Chan, C. B., Croteau, K., . . . Wojcik, J. R. (2008). BMI - referenced cut-points for pedometer - determined steps per day in adults. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5(Suppl 1), S126-S139.

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). Physical activity guidelines advisory committee report, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/Report/pdf/CommitteeReport.pdf
    Critique of BLOGS:

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  5. UnknownFebruary 25, 2014 at 12:36 PM

    So true. A body in motion stays in motion. It's much easier to prevent rather than treat.

    ReplyDelete

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