Wow . Tired people rest. Who would have thought it?
This is right up there with the revelation that hungry people eat.
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As a kid in The Bronx, I would go to the park behind the Yankee Stadium and watch old men run around the track and die of heart attack there. My folks ate chicken fat sandwiches on white bread and lived into their late 80s. Eat, drink, and be merry, because DEATH is coming for YOU and YOU will think that it is TOO SOON! Oh, and DEATH will not care about YOUR exercise regime.
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First, kudos to these researchers for studying exercise compensation effects in the first place. It is not a topic that is going to win them a lot of friends. And kudos to Ms. Reynolds for publicizing it.
That said, this study would have been a whole lot stronger if its subjects, or even a subset of its subjects, had worn activity trackers. Maybe that is the next step. (But then let's take serious steps to minimize Hawthorne effects, which could be huge...)
If you eat less and count calories, you'll lose weight. I've been keeping around 164 for three years now. I'm 5 foot 11 inches, down from 6'1" as a kid.I've been using a "simply fit 'twist board'" which you use in front of a tv, for two weeks now, lifting two pound weights in the air while emulating Chubby Checker. In two weeks it has seriously re-shaped my core, the hardest part of the body to reshape. There may be limits to how far this will take me, but its working and I didn't really expect it to. I move the weights up and down in the air while doing the watusi in front of a tv. The fiberglass board is, yes, the junk workout once sold on TV. They're now for sale at Wal-mart for less ($29) than they were on tv ($40).
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@Ida Tarbell Made me laugh!
overlong workouts encourage resting the rest of the day/evening. interval training will help by its shorter duration
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But what do those of us who sit for our 7/5+ hours a day for our work supposed to do? My work is on a computer and there's no way I can get out of that. Then the drive to work sitting. I hear sitting the new "smoking"
put down the phone and pick up the iron. then pick it up again and again...
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Well, this is why you incorporate resistance training into your routine, to improve your nutrient partitioning, flexibility and strength. Then you eat at maintenance like a normal person should, and you become fit and muscular, and you have plenty of time to lay down. People like to lay down.
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I'd bet that MUCH better data could be made available from wearable fitness technology, like FitBit, showing actually behavior, rather than what people report on a survey.
Of course only certain types of people wear these devices, so the data wouldn't represent the general population.
@mgavagan true, but even a FitBit won't track base metabolic rate. If I exercise daily and gain muscle, which is more metabolically active than fat, my base metabolic rate increases--its not a flat rate that can be extrapolated over the course of a study; it would need to be re calibrated. In addition, the work that is expended walking office building stairs, cleaning the house, and shopping for groceries, isn't equal to the aerobic benefits of, say distance running, the effects of which accumulate over time, such that in month one of the study, their may be little variance between the two readings, but by month three, there would be.
@mgavagan -
One advantage of the dataset acquired here is that it was retrospective, so the subjects could not game it. (They could lie, but here those who exercised indicated less other activity, not the same as those who didn't exercise as much. And the detailed time-accounting of this study isn't structured for simple lying.)
A serious problem with using activity trackers would be that the tracker data would be collected prospectively and the subjects could (and, we know from past experience, would) change their behavior BECAUSE they were being observed. This is known as the Hawthorne Effect, i.e. the alteration of behavior by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.
I would want to impress the researchers with how much exercise and activity I do. And how healthily I eat, etc., (if only for the length of time I am being observed).
Future datasets should contain both types of data to corroborate each other and should be structured to minimize Hawthorne effects.
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Just skimming this article made my head spin. There's only so much a person can do to monitor all the variables in life that affect outcomes whether talking about health, wealth or other measurable activities and still live a meaningful life. In the end we all die of something.
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My 88 year old friend is fit as a fiddle. For years, I asked him his activities diet and habits. He eats bad food, but never after dinner, eats three meals a day, takes walks, and most importantly, he told me don't eat much pasta and keep moving.
For several years, I carried a pedometer that when viewed at times during the day, inspires me to move or exercise. Now I carry two pedometers all day and compare readings that has made a habit of moving many times during the day. I take vigorous walks for aerobic exercise and move around home all day.
Buy a pedometer, calibrate it according to the instructions and carry it all day. You will be amazed at the thousands of steps and miles you walk all day. It's cheap health care you can do on your own.
Like my friend says "Keep Moving".
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Maybe because we’re tired after exercising.
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@JQGALT
Don't mean to be a pedant but you shouldn't be tired after exercise. The opposite actually.
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I’d say the most dangerous item in your home is .... the couch.
Resting too much will drain you and make you a prisoner with frozen joints and pain pills.
Exercise energizes you - simple stretches at bedtime can improve your sleep immensely.
You can start at any age as the body will adapt as you move.
It will not happen overnight but over time you will heal yourself.
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We need to stop accepting desk jobs as an option, it's not worth it
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There are ways to incorporate "exercise" into one's life and daily routine. Here are some that I do:
1. Walk or bicycle to local destinations instead of driving.
2. If one does drive, park a bit farther away, say at the end of a parking lot or down the block and walk to the destination.
3. Sit farther away from restrooms, counters in restaurants, etc. so one needs to walk back and forth.
4. If you have a pet, walk them more often per day (I walk my dog up to 6 times per day at 20 minutes per walk).
5. Take the stairs instead of the elevator/lift.
6. Go to the grocery store less often, and when you do go, park far away in the parking lot, and take a cart from the lot into the store. Fill the cart, so it is heavy, and push it around. Costco is a great place to to do this, but try to avoid munching on the free samples!
7. Do your own gardening, weeding, and cleaning up instead of hiring a gardener or housekeeper. Saves money but takes time.
8. Try low impact exercises, such as in a pool or run on grass or sand (at the beach if there is one nearby).
9. Get rid of your TV & cable & streamer. Cut back on Internet browsing. Put the saved hours toward the above tasks or get out more often:
10. Take walks in natural areas, such as parks, nature areas, the beach, etc. Reconnect with nature.
Of course, all of these extra levels of exertion and involvement take time, but the time saved by not watching TV may make up for the above effort.
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The article ends with a quote suggesting that many of us are probably not aware of how we spend our time.
I wonder if that doesn't also apply to the people in this study who reported how they spent their day
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Not sure what these studies indicate other than the reasonable assumption that on the days the average health conscious individual spends on exercising they have less energy for other activities ,like making a living and helping with family.
How about instead of urging theses folks , who probably rightly think they are doing well in even exercising on a regular basis, to somehow find more energy to engage in more non-sedentary activities (in order to "Burn more calories"), you simply suggest that they also consider limiting the time they spend on social media and watching TV, and to avoid junk food? That way it avoids the judgemental sounding nag of the exercise fanatic about burning calories (which, after all, we know really doesn't help with controlling weight), and instead- focuses on developing an over all healthier and achievable life style?
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Of course burning calories helps one to lose weight. It's a pretty simple formula: calories in versus calories burned.
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@Birddog I'm really old. On the days I go to the gym, I'm too tired to do much else. On days I don't go, I try to walk 1-2 miles. Same thing. I get home and fall asleep with my laptop on my lap. On days I clean house, that's all that gets done.
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@Sneeral: Where did you get this idea? It's not what the science says.
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What if every day is a "exercise day" more or less?
When I go to the store, or to the doctor, or most anywhere I don't classify the day as an "exercise day" when I'm on the Me-Mover, even though I'm in an aerobic condition during my transportation.
On the day's I go to the Y and weight train using the Me-Mover to get there and back, this is when the "more" comes into play because I'm doing aerobics, then anaerobic, then aerobics again going home.
When I walk my dog, when she disturbs my TV watching often, , that's when my "less" days are, maybe not, because their could be the spontaneous store trip on the Me-Mover.
Here's why I know I gained endurance since I use the scooter for transportation, because when I first used it, I could hardly make it around my apartment complex about 2 years ago at 78 Years old.
Which is why about every day is an exercise day for me, more or less.
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I view T.V.s as furniture, not entertainment. I have not owned a TV for 20 some years. Instead, I get 'physical' with my husband while we enjoy each other's company.
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@AM Murphy
Same here. I got rid of my TV in the 1990's and have not missed it at all. There are plenty of things to do to fill up time.
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To the scientists out there, I'd like to propose a study of the effect of time of day of exercise on how active people are the rest of the day. It seems to me if you exercise in the evening then the resulting fatigue would come at night and you'd still continue to be as active as normal during the day. And maybe as a side benefit of late day exercising you'd sleep better. I remember an article here a few years ago that suggested the idea that late day exercise would keep you awake really depended on your own belief about whether it would or not.
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This doesn't seem to be an issue. Sure, it's true we'll probably do less on days we exercise but, then, we did exercise. Exercise, unlike regular chores, will count for double or triple in physical benefits. That's obviously because exercise is focused on muscle groups and intensity, whereas, chores are for accomplishing something else and physical benefits are just a by-product.
So, if you do something really hard, like run or hike 20 miles, I don't see a problem with watching TV for the next few days. I think you'll still be ahead.
7
Television is similar to a drug. The screen with moving images, sound and color, hijacks the parts of the brain that would normally be available for critical thinking and other mind tasks.
Instead, the TV feeds a constant stream of visual cues and challenges, a constant flow of information, in the broadest sense, for the brain to absorb, manage and digest. And most television programming is designed to constantly cue up emotional references and trigger our basic instincts. Drama, comedy, horror, all rotated in cycles to feed us with pleasure, sadness, fear and judgement.
It’s addicting and enjoyable, and it accomplishes one immediate and powerful goal, to bring our brains into a state where the real world is lost and forgotten for a brief moment, as we stare at an alternate reality that is not ours, not there to touch and feel, but imagined, in our minds.
Thank you television, I think I will turn you off now!
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Just like movies, music, gaming, working at a computer & people watching. Simply get your fill. Then walk away.
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@Andrew B
Eloquent
The idea that exercise is about "burning calories" to lose fat is absurd - the time and effort are prohibitive as compared with the obvious weight-loss solution, staying hungry. What exercise is good for is muscle mass, strength and cardiovascular endurance. Too little of the pulp media discussion about some generic notion of "exercise" fails to point out that less time on intensive work - either for strength or aerobic fitness - is much more efficient (and psychologically exhilarating) than hours of repetitive "movement". Not to mention the inevitable joint damage, arthritis, etc. from racking up obsessive low intensity mileage too many days of the week.
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@J111111 Personally I enjoy the repetitive movement without the threat of joint damage on a scooter called a Me-Mover. Unlike running there is low impact when stepping on the machine that on occasion I spend hours on.
I have some arthritic and back problems, but I find that the Me-Mover helps to resolve discomfort as it did some time ago when I had a nerve issue on my right hip. I couldn't walk a certain distance due to pain on my hip area. Soon after riding the Me-Mover my pain dissipated, then disappeared. That's not to say other methods may have also helped.
Hours of repetitive aerobics can be very welcome with the ensuing endorphin gift of the feeling of well being.
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I am more and more convinced that there are extraordinary differences which govern how fit people are (and can become fit), amount and distribution of fat, etc. somewhat (emphasizing somewhat) independent of external/environmental influences. Explains the heated arguments amongst us readers about what works and doesn't, apparent and not so apparent flaws in various interventional studies and anecdotal evidence offered in these comments section contrary to findings discussed in articles. As Donald Rumsfeld used to say "we don't know what we don't know."
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It isn't just about carlories. My vinyasa yoga classes develop strength and flexibility and are fun. If I just did more errands and chores I wouldn't have the toned muscles, the flexibility, or the fun.
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Likely burns calories too, don’t you think?
At an upmarket gym, you can watch TV while exercising.
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This is old news!
Sitting is bad even for runners! This from 2013 article
https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20796415/sitting-is-the-ne...
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@Jaque..Unfortunately can't access this article..you need to make sure link is underlined.
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Maybe track how many hours you sit as much as how much exercise you are getting.
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We can move while we watch tv
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This is just another example your metabolism to keep you at the same metabolic rate....we really don’t understand stasis in humans yet...
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Animals in general, including humans, tend to conserve energy unless they absolutely have to move. It's a simple principle of evolution (the other one being "eat when and where you can").
It's no surprise that after exercising, we tend to do two things to compensate: look for opportunities to rest, and reward ourselves with extra food. It's exactly what humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years.
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Believe it or not, there are some human beings that NEVER watch TV, and some who don't, by choice, even have a TV in their home! Many people who have office jobs are sitting most of their day but my work keeps me active both in mind and body. My addiction is literature and I binge on that daily. A book a day keeps the doctor away! I'm 63 and I'm in perfect health. I have a large garden and cook daily. No meat since 20.
I had a great-grandmother who lived to be 99. She had a very difficult life, both emotionally and physically. She was overweight, mournful, in her last 20 years a sitter by her window daily for most of the day; she wasn't totally alone but very withdrawn even if the house was full of people. She had health issues but died peacefully in her sleep. All those on my mother's side lived into the late 90's. My father is 93 and also had bad habits--still drives and is going very strong but takes pills for decades.
I believe I have the honor of great family genes and I'm helping them along by nourishing both body and mind and spirit. I climb my mountain 2x a week but all this is no indication or promise of a long life. You must be lucky in this life. A limitless passion for living a giving also helps, I believe. Every moment is a rich gift for me. One which I never ever take for granted.
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May I ask what you snack on as a vegan or vegetarian when you are hungry? I have many hungry days when trying to follow a vegan diet and I eat a whole grain diet.
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@Nora
You asked me Nora is such a lovely way! "May", so I want to respond. Everyone is so different in diet and I am very strict. I don't "snack" at all. I have one big meal at noon. A light breakfast, no dinner and I don't eat anything after 4pm. For most Americans its impossible to eat at noon in a healthy way if they work.
Here's what helps greatly; I was a chef in NYC making very beautiful food. I never had time to eat myself, always working 13 hours+ and I picked while cooking. I was so involved in my artistry and the visual and sensory delights that I almost never felt hungry. There was something so magical about that process that it left no hunger because I was being "filled" in another way. I know it sounds impossible but its very true. For me. All that beautiful food around--you want to eat it! And for me food, because of my career, meant creative effort, love, giving, dreaming. You say your following a diet. Start cooking daily with your fantasy, not a book, and take "diet" out of the picture. I always make a batch of hummus. If I do feel hunger later I take homemade bread and spread it on. Or berries from my garden or another fruit tree. If I think of food its not to eat it--its to create with it. Try it and watch your hunger.
Other sources can fill our hunger. Hunger is emotional as well. I'm always hungry for poems! A few rich poems and I feel nothing but elation and its soul food. It will transform your hunger and everything else in life.
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@Nora
I slice up an apple and spread almond butter on the slices. Delicious, quick, and easy to clean up!
2
I do both at the same time. I do elliptical and weights while watching my shows. I don’t watch my shows when I’m doing yoga. Still, I’ll be more mindful of taking stairs verses the elevator on my work out days. Thanks for this article.
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I have a treadmill and exercise bike at home. Both are right in front of the TV. The house rule is if you are watching TV you have to be either riding the bike or walking on the treadmill. I do two household chores per day.
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For those of us who work all day, dedicated exercise requires us to carve out time from our schedules to exercise and to forego doing other chores and errands. There are only so many hours in a day. How is it possible to find time to do chores and errands and other light activities if we work from say 9:00 until 6:00, leave work and workout at the gym from 6:30 to 7:30, and get home at 8:00 and make dinner? This study seems to be based on people having discretionary time and not having to chose between exercise and errands/chores.
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@Abby
Advice from someone retired: develop the exercise habit while working. Baby steps - best to do a little regularly. Then when you retire you can work out every day, and spend time preparing healthy meals. This has been my story.
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@ring0
I definitely have developed the exercise habit at the expense of the chores.
6
@Abby So true, unless you force yourself to become an extreme morning person committed to exercise before going to work. At a certain age, one’s sluggish metabolism overrules any attempts at maintaining a healthy weight if you don’t exercise. If I’m not in the gym by 6:00AM, and out the door by 7:30, I face a slow bus ride to NYC that is hellish even though I live in Montclair. That, and a 20-minute walk across town to my office helps, but it is definitely not easy.
What this tells me is that the exercise nags are never going to be happy and shut up, whether you exercise or not.
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@MadelineConant Just what I was thinking. Will there ever be a study that allows us to sit in a park and read a book, or do we have to put the book on a holder in front of a treadmill. I'm beginning to feel like a gerbil or a hamster.
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@MadelineConant: No one is forcing you to exercise. If you don't want to, don't! It's your choice, your body, your life. You're the only person who lives in your body, and you're the only person who experiences the consequences of how you choose to live.
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@MadelineConant
You are absolutely right. Just enjoy life. People live a long time without continuously exercising.
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