Wednesday musings, 11/29/16: movement and heart health

A recent New York Times article on the Hadza people, a hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania, concludes moving at a moderate intensity, a variety of ways, is good for our heart health.* Rarely did tribe members break into a run or move in a way that raised their heart rates into the vigorous category during the course of their weeks, but they did move over two hours a day moderately, walking, lifting, and doing. 

This type of activity doesn’t cease as members age. The 70 year olds were found to be as active as the young tribe members. 

It is unrealistic for many to be active for over two hours a day. However, there are things that most of us could do more often, such as getting up and down from the floor, picking things up from the ground, and walking instead of driving whenever possible to improve general well being. As the old saying goes, “use it or lose it.” Unstructured, regularly interspersed movement during the day might make as much of a difference as structured exercise on heart health.

*Article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/well/move/born-to-move.html?_r=0