Driving to work could be making you fatter. One study has found that, over a four-year period, people who commuted by car gained more weight than those who used public transport or walked.
According to research presented at the Be Active 2012 conference, long-term weight maintenance may be possible by some simple, fundamental changes in your daily routine such as combining commuting by other means with being more active in your leisure time.
Read more: the smarter way to workout
Be Active, this year being held in Sydney, is hosted by Sports Medicine Australia and topics will focus on getting active, staying active and participating safely. “Our study has shown that not using cars for commuting may be protective against weight gain,” says Takemi Sugiyama, Senior Research Fellow, Division of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia. “This highlights the need for promoting active commuting through public health, urban planning and transportation initiatives.”
Shannon Sahlqvist, from the ACT’s Deakin University Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, said her research has found that an increase in active travel is associated with an increase in overall physical activity. “There is increasing evidence that active travel reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality and its risk factors.”
In essence, “active travel” is a form of “incidental exercise”, the exercise you get when you don’t think you’re exercising. And it all adds up. If you genuinely don’t have time to set aside for a formal fitness regime (that could be a brisk 30-60 minute walk a day), making small extra efforts during the course of your daily routine can lead to incremental fitness gains and weight loss.
Michelle Bridges, fitness guru and co-host of TV’s The Biggest Loser, says that sedentary lifestyles are a major contributor to weight gain. “I had what you might call a moment of enlightenment while shooting the 2011 series of The Biggest Loser,’ she recalls. `For those who didn’t see the show, the producers came up with the idea of making us trainers spend a week living with the contestants before they went into the Biggest Loser house, so we could experience their eating habits and general lifestyles first-hand.”
“Apart from their obvious lack of exercise and almost obsessive mission to consume as many kilojoules in as short a period of time as possible, another feature of their domestic lives really struck me,” she continues. “I noticed they would spend a lot of time simply sitting around, just being … well, inactive. Not moving. And to support this, they literally had everyone running around fetching stuff (mostly food) for them. It was an endless, “Can you get me this? Can you bring me that?”
“There is a very solid physiological reason for us to get off our backside and get ourselves moving. Moving our bodies around the house or the office expends energy: not a lot, but enough to make a difference by the end of the day. Sitting down and getting up, walking around, cleaning, taking out the garbage and all those other little bits and pieces we do that make up our modern lives slowly but surely chip away at our energy reserves.”
This “little by little” cumulative effect is the key to incidental exercise. It could be part of your every waking moment.
Tips to lose weight (without much effort)
The team at CosBeauty.com.au has compiled a list of everyday tips to help you incidentally, accidentally lose weight.
Hide the TV remote
Get off the couch and change the channel at the set. Do something active while you watch TV. Use an exercise bike or treadmill, do some ab crunches, push-ups or a few lifts with hand weights, use a stretch band to do arm exercises. Keep a mat and the relevant equipment close by so you don’t have to hunt for it (and make excuses for yourself not to get active). Ad breaks are a good time to do something: at least walk to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee.
Make housework more energetic
It’s a potentially high-intensity activity! Put extra oomph into vacuuming, sweeping and washing floors, cleaning windows and scrubbing the bathroom. Put on music while you’re doing it and the time will fly.
Yard work is excellent too – mowing and raking the lawn, digging in the garden, washing the car. If these activities are intense enough they can replace a regular gym workout.
Cancel the shopping home delivery
Walk to the shops and back again several times a week (so you’re not overloaded with bags) rather than doing it all in one fell swoop, making carrying everything impossible. If the shops are too far, then park your car further away so you still get a walk.
Move your feet!
Take your dog for a walk (or an extra walk) each day. Cycle or walk to work, if that’s feasible, instead of driving. Otherwise get off the bus or train a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way.
Take a 10-20 minute brisk walk every lunch hour if you can. It will also de-stress you and clear your head for the afternoon ahead. Walking burns about 8KJ a minute, depending on your age and weight.
Most fitness guidelines recommend that you take about 8000-10,000 steps a day. Put it into a measurable context – that will also inspire you to challenge yourself – and get a pedometer.
Dancing is fantastic for cardiovascular fitness, coordination, balance and the soul. It doesn’t matter if you are at a dance class, a club or at home in your lounge room. Just make sure you dance like nobody’s watching!
When you answer your mobile or cordless handset and if you’re in an appropriate environment, get up and walk around. Anything you do that fosters movement is a positive thing. Invest in a headset to free up both arms so you can do even more while you’re talking. By just even standing up you will expend double the amount of calories than if you sit down.
If you can walk don’t drive. If you can take the stairs – whether at home, work or in public places – don’t take the lift or escalator. If you’re on an escalator, walk up them like they’re stairs.
Of course, we can’t just stop driving. But make the most of idling time in bumper-to-bumper traffic or at red lights by using it to work on your core muscles. Put a cushion behind your back in your car seat and every time you stop, exhale, think about drawing up through the pelvic floor and zipping up through your belly in towards the cushion. Before long, it will become a habit and your posture will improve. Also try this if you spend long stretches of the day at a desk.
Put together at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity incidental physical activity on most, preferably all, days. If you do, you’ll notice the difference. You’ll keep your metabolism up, which can boost your energy levels and help you sleep better, and of course, you’ll burn more calories. If you put enough effort into it that your heart and lungs have to work a little harder than usual, you’ll improve your fitness level, too.
The Be Active 2014 Conference, hosted by Sports Medicine Australia, incorporates the Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport (ACSMS), the National Physical Activity Conference (NPAC), and the National Sports Injury Prevention Conference (NSIPC).
It will be held at the National Convention Centre, Canberra on 15-18 October, and will provide an interactive educational forum to promote the latest physical activity and health development.
