Beat the effects of Christmas with short daily exercise!

Daily exercise can help ensure guilt-free Christmas

Even if you consume significantly more calories than you burn off this Christmas, a short, daily bout of exercise will stave off most of the negative effects of over-eating and inactivity, according to scientists at the University of Bath.

Whilst earlier studies found that just a few days of eating too much and exercising too little could have long-term negative impacts on the body, a new study, published recently in the Journal of Physiology, shows that daily exercise will counter many of these effects.  

As part of the study, led by researchers in the University’s Department for Health, 26 healthy young men were asked to reduce their physical activity over a period of one week. Half the group then exercised daily on a treadmill for 45 minutes, whilst the other half remained inactive.

Everyone who was part of the study was asked to overeat. The non-exercising group increased their calorie intake by 50 per cent, whilst the exercising group increased theirs by 75 per cent, ensuring everybody’s daily energy surplus (the extra calories they received beyond what they burned) remained the same.

After just one week, both groups had blood insulin measured and biopsies of fat tissue taken, with striking results. The non-exercising group showed an unhealthy decline in their blood sugar control, whilst the exercising group had stable blood sugar levels. The activation of genes within fat cells in the non-exercising group were also found to be negatively changed to those levels needed for a well-functioning metabolism.

Senior author on the paper, Dr Dylan Thompson explains: “A critical feature of our experiment is that we matched the energy surplus between groups, so the exercising group consumed even more energy and were still better off at the end of the week.

“If you are facing a period of overconsumption and inactivity this Christmas, then our study shows that a daily bout of exercise will prevent many of the negative changes in the way in which your body handles sugar, even if you do still gain weight.”

Dr James Betts, one of the researchers also involved, said: “This new research shows that the picture is more sophisticated than ‘energy’ alone. Exercise has positive effects even when we are actively storing energy and gaining weight.”

Commenting on the findings, Dr Jean-Philippe Walhin added: “Short term overfeeding and reduced physical activity had a dramatic impact on the overall metabolic health of the participants and on various key genes within fat tissue. However, even though energy was still being stored, regular exercise prevented many of the long-term negative changes from taking place.”

To find out more about the physiotherapy services we can offer to help you with  exercise and keeping healthy please contact us today for more information and to book an appointment.

To access the research paper see http://jp.physoc.org/content/591/24/6231.abstract  

More than half of UK adults live with unnecessary pain instead of seeking help from qualified health professionals, such as physiotherapists, a survey by Nuffield Health shows.

A survey of 2,000 adults on behalf of charity Nuffield Health shows that 45 per cent are in pain at least once a week, rising to almost three quarters (71 per cent) at least once a month. Of those in pain, more than three quarters (77 per cent) said it negatively affected their everyday life.

Despite this, 59 per cent did not seek help from healthcare professionals, according to the survey.

People are as likely to turn to the internet for advice as visiting a health professional. Young people between16 and 24 years are five times more likely to self-diagnose than see a trained professional.

Liz Adair, director of physiotherapy at Nuffield Health, said: ‘Our physiotherapists often see people who have done more harm than good by trying to deal with pain themselves, or by not doing anything at all.

‘The research suggests there could be serious long term implications of failing to act, including an over-reliance on pain medication.’

CSP chair Sue Rees agreed: ‘Physios can work with other health professionals to help patients manage pain, increase their physical function and achieve the best possible quality of life.’

For information on how to deal with pain visit the Therapy Centre website.

Never too late in life to get active to get healthy

A study looked at over 3000 elder people with an average age of 64. Of these 57% were women.

Comparing participants of the experiment from baseline and 8 years later it was found that those that reported being moderately active were 3x more likely to be healthy. Those that reported vigorous activity were 4x more likely to be healthy.

It was concluded that: "Significant health benefits were even seen among participants who became physically active relatively late in life," 

To find out more about the physiotherapy services we can offer to help you with exercise please contact us today for more information and to book an appointment.

Br J Sports Med. Published online November 25, 2013. Abstract