Your daily run becomes that much more important.
By Elizabeth Millard
Dec 14, 2020

active senior man jogging on a sunny day
JovanmandicGetty Images
* According to new research in the journal Occupational &
Environmental Medicine, people are likely to become more sedentary
as they age, because retirement generally brings changes to daily
routines and social interactions.
* No matter your age, it’s important to find an activity you love
that you can do regularly and that you view as part of your
everyday habits—like running.
__________________________________________________________________

Despite plenty of alarm bells over the past few years about the risks
of sedentary behavior, a new study suggests many older people
aren’t heeding that wake-up call.

Research, published in the journal Occupational & Environmental
Medicine, looks at 689 participants in the Finnish Retirement and Aging
Study, an ongoing study of retired municipal workers in Finland.

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To track their amount of sedentary time, participants wore activity
trackers for 10 or more waking hours for seven consecutive days in each
of the few years before retirement and right after retirement.

Researchers found a significant rise in sedentary time following
retirement, and that habit stuck around—participants tended to maintain
that lower activity level two years later when researchers followed up.
Newly retired women seemed to show faster reduction in activity, but
men eventually became more sedentary as well.
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“Retirement generally brings changes to daily routines and social
interactions, and the amount of active social participation after
retirement may partly explain the amount of sedentary time,” the study
stated. “Social connections and meaningful activities may decrease
after retirement, leading to increased time spent at home and
engagement in sedentary activities such as watching television, which
is likely done in a more prolonged manner than other sedentary
activities, such as using a computer. Moreover, when people retire,
physical activity during commuting and lunch breaks no longer
interrupt the periods of sitting.”

These findings are consistent with previous research that found daily
total sedentary time tends to increase as people move into retirement.
But these findings highlight the concern over those new sedentary
habits becoming a long-term problem, especially since it raises the
risk of cardiovascular disease and other health concerns, the
researchers concluded.

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On the flip side, healthy habits like exercise can show long-term
effects as well, according to Belinda Beck, Ph.D., professor in the
school of Allied Health Sciences at Griffith University in Australia,
who also owns The Bone Clinic, a health service focusing on bone,
muscle, and joint health.

In her research on older adults, particularly postmenopausal women,
Beck followed up on an exercise trial she and her colleagues had done
in 2017 and found that many participants continued to improve
exercise-related bone mass even if they’d reduced their activity
levels.
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“The takeaway is that whatever behavior you put into place as you get
older, whether that’s being sedentary or doing a regular exercise
practice, will have a ripple effect years later,” Beck told Bicycling.
“That means the sooner you start getting active, the more likely you’ll
be to continue that habit as you age.”

Even if you’ve already passed retirement age, it’s certainly not too
late to start, she added. That might involve going for a run a few
times a week and walking on other days, which can both increase
strength and improve balance, according to personal trainer
Kourtney Thomas, C.S.C.S.

“No matter what age you’re starting at, the strategies will be the
same,” she told Bicycling. “Find an activity you love that you can do
regularly and that you view as part of your everyday habits, not just
as a training program with an end date. That way, you can build on that
movement as time goes on.”

From: Bicycling US
Elizabeth Millard Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing
on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
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