Take a stand for your health
Cheyanne Greirson 16
According to Newton’s first law of motion, a body at rest stays at rest. Likewise, long periods of inactivity can cause serious health complications and in some cases death.
According to the Cornell Chronicle, Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University Dr. Rebecca Seguin found that women who were immobile for longer periods of time died earlier than their more active peers. Her results were based on a study that she conducted with 93,000 women who were all over 40 years old.
Women who were idle for over 11 hours a day were 12 percent more likely to face premature death compared to those who were idle for four hours or less a day. A majority of these premature deaths were due to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cancer.
Older women are at greater risk of contracting these diseases due to the difficulty of regaining physical health. Because most women begin to lose muscle mass at 35 years old, a consistent exercise routine is necessary prior to that age in order to strengthen muscles and counteract the physical decline according to the Cornell Chronicle.
Scientists at Cornell University believe that the increase of industrialization and advanced technology are to blame for the lack of physical activity in women.
“We have a lot of modern conveniences and technologies that, while making us more efficient, also lead to decreased activity and diminished ability to do things,” Dr. Seguin said, according to the Cornell Chronicle. “Women need to find ways to remain active.”
According to United States Health and Human Services, teenagers should be physically active for at least one hour per day. A healthy exercise routine is necessary to prevent bone corrosion and muscle weakness that leads to more complications in future years.
“Including the time I spend sitting during school and doing my homework after school, I would say that I sit around 11 hours a day. I try to exercise for about 45 minutes a day when I’m not playing a sport,” Convent of the Sacred Heart sophomore Julenne Jaramillo said.
Scientists encourage young girls to increase their daily hours of physical activity and to maintain healthy habits that will benefit them later in life. It is also recommended that girls stretch in the morning when they wake up and in the evening before they go to sleep. These simple routines will not only improve bone health, but also will help to prevent obesity and heart diseases.
– Cheyann Greirson, Staff Writer
