Life during quarantine...
The pandemic has changed everyone's life. There is less entertainment and most of us lead a “sedentary” lifestyle. And only one pleasure remained constantly available - food. As a result, we began to eat more and move less. And many are faced with the problem of excess weight. For some, losing 5-10 kg is not a problem, but for others it is an unthinkable task.
In most economically developed countries of the world, obesity has become a huge social problem, and long before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO called obesity the pandemic of the 21st century. In our country, about 30% of the female and 15% of the male adult population are obese; in children these figures are slightly lower.
And this is a problem not only in our country. Every third resident of the USA and Turkey is obese, and in Germany, Russia, France, Spain - every fourth or fifth.
Obesity is not only the result of poor nutrition. This is also physical inactivity (lack of regular daily physical activity) + financial and time investments (lack of understanding that healthy food is expensive and takes time to prepare). We often buy sausages rather than meat because sausages cook quickly. Or we don’t buy steak from the “mega-healthy” red fish, because it is expensive, but we buy chicken thighs, because they are a little cheaper. Is your health expensive or cheap?
Obesity in 90% of cases is the result of poor nutrition.
And childhood obesity is mainly the result of “bad eating habits” instilled in them by their parents and/or grandparents. And childhood obesity rates have been rising markedly over the years.
It's not your fault. You weren't taught to eat right as a child. They didn’t teach because there was no such knowledge in society. Everyone knew that porridge was good, but eggs were bad. There was no such lesson in school as “healthy eating.” They taught astronomy, geometry, physics, it was important to run a cross-country race for a couple of kilometers against the clock, long jump... But they didn’t teach how to take care of your body and what to give the right material for your structure (what food).
And if we don’t know how to eat properly, then how can we teach this to our child? “Google” and imagine that everything is clear and simple? It doesn’t occur to anyone to fix a broken iPad by reading amateur repair instructions on the Internet. That's right, the iPad is a precious thing, let a specialist handle it. But with your diet and your body, will it be okay? Do you really value your iPad more than your health and the health of your children?
Of course, it's not that simple. Both the media and the habits of peers also play a huge role. But still, the child does not come up with his own menu and does not form habits on his own. He looks at what you eat, how you eat it, when you eat it. And he draws conclusions: what is good, what is possible, what is useful, and what is not so good.
Obesity is a chronic disease of energy metabolism. This is a disproportion between the energy coming from food and the energy expended on muscle work.
Implications for physical health
The main consequences are excess weight gain, the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. A number of studies have found a link between lack of physical activity and some types of cancer, but the findings require further, broader and deeper research. The link between a sedentary lifestyle and the following health consequences is now irrefutably proven:
- Overweight and obesity
Even if you maintain the same amount of nutrition, if there is no physical activity (sedentary work, and even remote work), this leads to excess weight gain. If you do not intervene in the process, obesity may develop with all the ensuing health consequences.
- Metabolic syndrome and diabetes
Excess weight gain plays a large role in the formation of these consequences. They develop slowly and can remain without specific symptoms for a long time. Periods of inactivity affect the body's ability to control blood sugar levels, as well as blood pressure and body fat.
- Cardiovascular diseases
As you know, heart and vascular diseases are one of the main causes of death throughout the world, and recently these diseases have become much younger. Some scientists note the modern lifestyle as the main factor, and we are talking not only about the lack of physical activity, but also about constant stress. In some cases, heart and vascular diseases can be considered as consequences of diabetes.
- Early death
Fifteen years of follow-up in one large study found that a sedentary lifestyle was associated with an increased risk of early death. It is noted that for prevention and risk reduction, it is important not only to follow the recommendations and exercise at least 150 minutes a week, but also to reduce the time spent without movement.
- Biological aging
Research has found a connection with earlier biological aging, which occurs faster in sedentary people than in physically active people.
What is a sedentary lifestyle?
A sedentary lifestyle, or physical inactivity, is an insufficient amount of moderate and/or high intensity physical activity relative to the recommended level.
What are the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle?
A sedentary lifestyle is the main and direct cause of many dangerous chronic diseases:
- Coronary heart disease, heart attack
- Atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower extremities
- Atherosclerosis of the brachiocephalic arteries, stroke
- Arterial hypertension
- Varicose veins of the lower extremities
- Diabetes mellitus type II
- Overweight and obesity
- Pathology of bone tissue and osteoporosis
- Cancer, especially breast and colon cancer
- Brain diseases and conditions that affect cognitive function, such as depression, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease.
This is not a complete list of diseases that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to.
Implications for psychological health
The consequences of a sedentary lifestyle also affect a person’s psychological state. The likelihood of developing depression and other mental disorders increases significantly. There may be several reasons. Scientists note changes in appearance (loss of motivation to take care of oneself, progressive weight gain) and a narrowing of the social circle as the main factors leading to psychological isolation and depression. Over time, a decrease in stamina becomes more evident: if earlier it took several tens of minutes to perform certain actions (for example, cleaning an apartment, cooking, washing or digging a garden bed), then over time it takes hours. At the same time, a person becomes very tired and develops shortness of breath , the pulse quickens, pain in the joints and muscles appears.This reaction of the body to an increase in physical activity is perceived by a sedentary person as stress, and he again lies down on the sofa or sits down at the computer, which further aggravates his condition.
Common diseases of office workers
Office workers are at risk. In addition to the need to work while sitting, with increased static load on certain areas of the spine, hip and elbow joints, they also experience constant psychological tension, stress at work, because the report must be written “yesterday”, dissatisfied clients threaten with complaints, etc. Much research is devoted to the health and risks of office workers. And among these risks the more common ones can be identified:
- Memory problems
A sedentary lifestyle affects the areas of the brain that are responsible for long-term memory. Several thousand volunteers took part in the study. It was possible to establish that with a lack of physical activity, the temporal lobe of the brain decreases, which is dangerous by reducing a person’s cognitive abilities and increasing the risk of dementia.
- Osteoarthritis of the knee joints
Office workers are at risk for developing this disease. Every tenth worker suffers from chronic pain in the knee joints. The fact is that the sitting position creates excessive static load on the joints, which increases the likelihood of their destruction. Excess weight complicates the situation.
- Osteochondrosis
Office workers are at risk for developing scoliosis, spondylosis and osteochondrosis. In a sitting position, the load on the spine increases by more than 50%. A weakening of the tone of the back muscles and degenerative processes lead to premature wear, most often affecting the thoracic and lumbar spine.
- Haemorrhoids
Circulatory disorders in the pelvic organs and lower body lead to blood stagnation. And this creates an increased load on the vessels, which are already weakened due to lack of physical activity. This, in turn, is a direct path to the development of hemorrhoids. The first symptoms of the problem will be the appearance of itching in the anal area, pain will gradually appear, which will only progress. In severe cases, bleeding and even rectal prolapse may occur.
Creating a healthy and active lifestyle
Regular physical activity reduces the likelihood of chronic diseases and their consequences. And this is the first thing that needs to change. Studies have shown that regular exercise reduces the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and other harmful effects on the body. One study conducted in 2014 involved more than 1.2 million people. The survey and questionnaire showed that physically active people were statistically less likely to have mental illness and depression. A healthy lifestyle involves a combination of cardio and strength exercises. The WHO recommends a minimum of 90 minutes of cardio and 60 minutes of strength training per week to stay healthy. But besides sports, it is important to reduce the amount of time a person spends without moving. To do this, it will be enough to gradually make simple adjustments to your life:
- Use public transport to get to work and, if possible, go 1-2 stops to the office, and ideally get to work on foot.
- Walk during your lunch break, in the evening, before bed, and as much as possible on the weekends.
- Skip the elevator and take the stairs.
- During work, take short breaks and simple exercises. Make it a rule to force yourself to get up every 45-50 minutes and do a variety of movements for 10-15 minutes. It is not for nothing that in Soviet times, attention was paid to physical education and industrial gymnastics in factories and schools.
- Pay more attention to household chores, master gardening.
- Choose active recreation on weekends rather than watching television series non-stop.
- Choose a hobby related to physical activity: dancing, swimming in the pool, Nordic walking, etc.
Numerous studies have linked an inactive lifestyle to severe health consequences.
Statistics show that only 21% of people meet the minimum requirements for physical activity and are less at risk of encountering possible consequences affecting the functioning of organs and systems. You can reduce your risks by increasing your physical activity to 150 minutes a week, but at the same time reducing the time you spend inactive each day. Text: Yulia Lapushkina.
Melatonin time
A person who sleeps little seems to us to be thin and active, he has a thousand things to do and has no time to sit down. And whoever sleeps a lot is a chubby lazy person. He should get up early and go for a run or go to the gym, but he’s dozing off. This point of view is also confirmed by scientific data. Several years ago, specialists from Saudi Arabia examined almost three thousand high school students aged 15–19 from three large cities in the country, half of them were girls. Data about their lifestyle was obtained from surveys. It turned out that schoolchildren who sleep eight hours or more do not play sports and lead a sedentary lifestyle, and adolescent sleep deprivation is associated with a high level of physical activity.
However, this traditional image is typical only for Saudi teenagers. For the young and adult population of other countries, the opposite is true. Recently, specialists from the University of Warwick Medical School (UK) analyzed scientific publications on the relationship between sleep and obesity in 30 thousand children and more than 600 thousand adults. It turned out that in people aged two to 20 years, losing one hour of sleep increases the risk of obesity by 80%. In adolescents 10–16 years of age, each additional hour of sleep is associated with a 3.6-point decrease in body mass index (BMI) and a decrease in body fat. In some studies, short sleep doubles the likelihood of obesity. Metabolic disorders due to sleep deprivation are largely due to the fact that people do not monitor their circadian clock.
Human life is subject to the circadian (around the day) ri wrote many times. Our body's master clock is located in a section of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. In an extremely simplified version, their work looks like this. Neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus synthesize CLOCK and BMAL1 proteins, which control the functioning of many genes in different organs and tissues: lungs, heart, skeletal muscles, intestines, liver and kidneys. Among others, genes under the control of the circadian clock are Per
and
Cry, Rev
and
ROR
.
The proteins of these genes gradually accumulate in different cells, and when their concentration reaches a certain value, PER and CRY1 suppress the work of the BMAL1:CLOCK complex, and REV and ROR inhibit the activity of the Bmal1 gene.
Overnight, all these proteins are destroyed, and
the CLOCK
and
BMAL1
resume their work - a new circadian cycle begins.
The second important component of the circadian clock is the pineal gland; it synthesizes the hormone melatonin, which, among many other functions, synchronizes the functioning of peripheral organs and tissues.
The functioning of the circadian clock depends on light exposure. The pineal gland produces melatonin in the dark; sunrise increases the activity of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Nevertheless, even when external factors change, the body maintains its established internal rhythm. Researchers discovered this in the 18th century, when French chronobiologist Jean-Jacques d'Hortu de Mairan (1678–1771) placed a mimosa in a dark box and discovered that in the absence of sunlight, it continued to periodically open and close its leaves. In people placed on an artificial 28-hour light/dark cycle, the sleep-wake period changed to a 28-hour period, but melatonin synthesis and the rhythm of body temperature changes still followed a 24-hour period.
The circadian rhythm determines the time of activity and rest of the body
Eating and digesting food also occurs according to the internal clock: its own time to eat and spend calories, its own time to sleep (see “Chemistry and Life” No. 6, 2015). During the day, during wakefulness, physical activity and nutrition, the pancreas secretes insulin, the liver synthesizes glycogen and bile acids, adipose tissue forms fat and synthesizes adiponectin, a hormone that regulates glucose concentration and fatty acid consumption. Adrenal hormones synthesize glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids have many functions, including increasing blood glucose levels, stimulating the synthesis of glucose and glycogen in the liver, and enhancing the breakdown of proteins and the absorption of fats in subcutaneous fat. Muscles also actively work and consume fat.
The onset of melatonin synthesis marks the time of sleep, rest and fasting. The body turns off the mode of active calorie consumption. It supports essential needs due to reserves of fats and glycogen, which it slowly breaks down. The pancreas secretes glucagon, which promotes the release of stored glucose. Now let’s imagine that a person, instead of sleeping, has a snack. His body, not in the mood to waste calories, will store them. Indeed, eating late at the wrong time of day causes insulin resistance, excess weight and obesity, and type 2 diabetes. This has been proven both for rodents (see “Chemistry and Life” No. 6, 2015) and for people.
About ten years ago, specialists from Northeastern University in Chicago conducted a study involving 52 healthy volunteers, half of whom were women. The subjects kept food journals for a week and wore an actigraph on their wrist. This device, reminiscent of a wristwatch, records all movements, transmits data to recording devices, and in some cases even detects light levels. Actigraphy is commonly used to monitor a person's rest and activity cycles.
The experiment showed that all subjects can be divided into two groups. Twenty-nine people were “normal sleepers”—their mid-sleep period occurred before half past five in the morning. For the remaining late sleepers, mid-sleep was at half past five or later. Not only did they go to bed and get up later, but they also ate later. During the day, they ate about 200 calories more than normal sleepers, consumed more calories at dinner, and after 20.00 they snacked more, not with vegetables and fruits, but with fast food and high-calorie carbonated drinks. The BMI of late sleepers was higher than that of normal sleepers: 26.0 and 23.7, respectively. A BMI above 25 is an indicator of overweight. Researchers link excess weight to shorter and later sleep, eating after 8 pm and eating fast food.
According to Harvard Medical School somnologist Elizabeth Klerman and her colleagues, in the assimilation of food, it is not the absolute time of the meal that is very important, but the interval between the meal and the onset of melatonin synthesis.
Scientists examined 110 people aged 18 to 22 years. Participants recorded their sleep, physical activity, and food intake for 30 days. In the laboratory, they determined their body composition and melatonin synthesis schedule. It turned out that well-fed people, who have more than 32.4% of their body weight in fat, eat most of their calories later than people with low fat content (less than 22.2%). At the same time, the synthesis of melatonin, which heralds the beginning of the biological night, began around 23.00 in both groups, and the hours of breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snack did not differ.
There is such a concept - the midpoint of calorie content. This is the hour by which people consume half of the calories they eat in a day. Obese participants in Klerman's experiment passed this point 1.1 hours closer to the beginning of melatonin synthesis than lean ones, and did not have time to spend the absorbed calories before the onset of a period of rest and fasting. Surprisingly, the researchers found no connection between body fat percentage and sleep duration. And she is.
