Women who incorporated more daily movement — think brisk walking, standing instead of sitting, or doing chores around the house — and limited sedentary behavior, such as watching television, had a greater likelihood of living without major disease 20 years later. The study was supported by NHLBI and the findings published in JAMA Network Open.
For this research, more than 45,000 participants ages 50 and older from the Nurses’ Health Study shared information about their everyday activities. They were then followed for up to 20 years. Researchers observed how sedentary behavior, including watching television, sitting at work or home, and physical activity, including moderate exercise and light movement, correlated with study participants’ health outcomes when they were at least 70 years old. At this time, 3,873 study participants, almost 9%, were considered healthy agers. Healthy aging included living without major chronic conditions or without physical, cognitive, or mental impairments. Other participants were considered “usual agers.”
The researchers predicted that 61% of “usual agers” could reach healthy aging by limiting watching television to three hours or less a day, incorporating more light movement into their day, exercising for at least 30 minutes, and maintaining a healthy body weight. They also found that small swaps could help increase the odds of becoming a “healthy ager.” For example, swapping an hour of watching television for moderate exercise each day was associated with a 28% increased odds of healthy aging, while swapping an hour sitting at work for standing or light walking was associated with a 4% increased odds. People who slept seven hours a night or less had an 11% increased odds of healthy aging by swapping an hour of watching television with getting an extra hour of sleep.