I discovered Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine, in this video On the “Viva Longevity” chain. Among other things, she is one of the two main researchers in the famous study on women’s health and is in good position to give scientific advice on physical health activity. I found it extremely competent and also delicious!
My favorite anecdote was that she discusses to work with one of her mentors, the legendary Dr Ralph Paffenbarger. He was an epidemiologist who was the pioneer to study the link between physical activity and health, and also a serious ultra-marathonal. When they attend conferences together, people asked him what his recent racing achievements were, and he would quote an impressive period during a recent event. Sometimes they turned to her and asked “and what are you doing to exercise?” And it should timidly answer “nothing”. She had grown up in Malaysia that she describes as very hot and mug, which did not inspire her to do a lot of physical activity.
This made her realize that she would have a better work activity in her own life so that her research results were taken more seriously. This makes her a perfect model for those of us who know that we must be physically active for health, but who are not necessarily inspired to be athletic. And his scientific knowledge allows him to show us the right quantity and the right types of activities to be healthy.
I was delighted to hear him confirm that typical directives (to which his research has contributed) to try to obtain 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (such as fast walking) per week reports approximately 90% of health benefits . For those who appreciate it, no harm comes from ten times this amount. But the yield of advantages only increases marginally after having made the minimum recommended amount. This can be in dedicated sessions such as 30 minutes sometimes a week, or in several shorter sessions accumulated throughout the week. Thus, work activity in daily life, for example using the stairs instead of the elevator, or parked a little further and bringing in, also count. Another funny anecdote she has given is that her Harvard department is on the third floor of her building, and Dr Lee always takes the stairs. But many people on her soil rather use the elevator, and if it is out of service, they linger in the hall as if he does not know what to do.
An important point that she has covered for those who like to count their steps is that there is no scientific basis for the famous objective of “10,000 stages”. Which comes from marketing for a pedometer company. According to the study on women’s health, it is confirmed that a target of 7,500 steps is in fact more precise (of course, there is nothing wrong with 10,000 if you appreciate it, but he n ‘is not necessary to obtain health benefits).
This particular video did not cover strength training for the elderly, but I’m sure there is a lot of insight from the search for Dr Lee. There is much more information in the book it edited, Epidemiological methods in physical activity studies.
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I am a mechanical engineer born in 1953, Ph. D, Stanford, 1980. I have been active in the mechanical CAE field for decades. I also have an interest in life for outdoor activities and physical form. I had the two hips replaced and a replacement of the heart valve due to a genetic condition. This blog tells my adventures by remaining active despite these bumps on the road. See all articles by Bionicolduy
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