Ep 167: Take the Stairs!

The very simple change from taking the escalator to taking the stairs can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Another form of exercise also lower your risk of type two diabetes.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/climbing-stairs-linked-39-lower-risk-heart-disease-death-large-study-finds#What-did-the-researchers-set-out-to-investigate

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/resistance-training-may-lower-risk-t2d-2026a1000spb?form=fpf

Key Takeaways:

A meta-analysis pooling data from around 450,000 people over 14 years found that those who often climbed stairs had a 39 percent lower risk of dying from heart-related issues, and were 24 percent less likely to die from any cause.

Sub-analysis pointed to a sweet spot of roughly six flights, or 60 to 70 steps, per day. It doesn't have to be done all at once.

Stair climbing isn't a cure in itself. It's a proxy for getting a bit more movement into the day, and people who take the stairs may also be making other choices that help.

Nothing in health is a force field. Not smoking, eating sensibly and exercising all lower your risk, but they never take it to zero, and health messaging often implies otherwise.

"Find thirty" can backfire by making exercise feel all or nothing. Fifteen minutes beats zero, ten beats zero, and small amounts still count.

Labour-saving devices have stripped roughly 2,000 calories a week of incidental movement out of daily life since the 1960s, which is about a full day's intake. Parking further from the door and taking the stairs puts some of that back.

Resistance training was associated with substantially lower risk of type two diabetes, particularly across midlife and combined with adequate aerobic activity. Get some guidance first if you haven't trained in a while.

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00:00 Introduction

00:13 The gym at the top of the stairs

01:02 A 39 percent lower risk of heart disease

01:24 What a meta-analysis can and can't tell you

02:22 450,000 people studied over 14 years

03:06 The sweet spot

04:10 Confounders, and what stairs are really a proxy for

04:40 Risk is never zero

06:46 "Find thirty" and the all or nothing trap

07:43 The incidental movement we've engineered out

09:34 Resistance training and type two diabetes

11:19 Outro

About Dr Joe Unplugged: Dr Joe Unplugged is your home for open commentary on health, wellbeing and life in the broadest sense. We will explore diet, exercise sleep and stress amongst other health matters as well as issues that may impact you and your wellbeing in direct or indirect ways.

Topics and comments on this podcast are general information only and are not in any way medical advice.

Recorded and produced by Podwave Studios: https://podwavestudios.au/

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