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On the Web - Concept 06

Web06-1: Classification of Activities by METs

Web06-02: Activity Classifications Vary by Fitness Level

Web06-03: Popular Lifestyle Activities

Web06-04: Health Benefits from Lifestyle Physical Activity

Web06-05: Calculating Calories Burned from Activity

Web06-06: Pedometers for Monitoring Physical Activity

Web 06-7: Active Living by Design

Web 06-8: Commuting as a Popular Lifestyle Physical Activity

Web06-09 Supplemental Web Resources

Web06-10 Supplemental Readings

Web06-1: Classification of Activities by METs

The term MET refers to "metabolic equivalent", a unit used to estimate the metabolic cost of physical activity. The value of 1 MET is approximately equal to a person's resting energy expenditure. All other activities can be categorized as multiples of resting energy expenditure. An activity like walking is considered to be 4 METS because it requires an energy expenditure approximately 4 times greater than that required at rest. The use of a common unit to categorize all activities provides a way to compare activities and to track intensities of physical activity for different purposes.

Researchers in the public health field have developed a comprehensive listing of MET values for various activities so that the absolute intensity of exercise can be compared or reported. The listing (known as the Compendium of Physical Activities) is published in Medicine and Science and Sports and Exercise, a leading exercise science journal. Click here for additional information on the Compendium of physical activities and how it is used.

A good explanation of METS is also available from a CDC webpage. Examples of Light, Moderate and Vigorous activities are listed below along with a diagram indicating the relative amounts of each needed for good health (click here to see the supplemental CDC site directly)

• Walking slowly
• Golf, powered cart
• Swimming, slow treading
• Gardening or pruning
• Bicycling, very light effort
• Dusting or vacuuming
• Conditioning exercise, light stretching or warm up

• Walking briskly
• Golf, pulling or carrying clubs
• Swimming, recreational
• Mowing lawn, power motor
• Tennis, doubles
• Bicycling 5 to 9 mph, level terrain, or with a few hills
• Scrubbing floors or washing windows
• Weight lifting, Nautilus machines or free weights

• Race walking, jogging or running
• Swimming laps
• Mowing lawn, hand mower
• Tennis, singles
• Bicycling more than 10 mph, or on steep uphill terrain
• Moving or pushing furniture
• Circuit training

Web06-02: Activity Classifications Vary by Fitness Level

Concept 6 provides general MET levels for different intensity classifications. These are appropriate for the general population but may not be accurate for individual exercise prescription. The reason for this is that a bout of exercise can be perceived very differently depending on a person's fitness level. An activity that may be easy for one person may be hard for another. A recent consensus conference released updated exercise tables that provide MET ranges for individuals depending on their individual fitness level. Ranges are provided for individuals with maximal aerobic capacities of 5, 8, 10 and 12 METS.

Web06-03: Popular Lifestyle Activities

The CDC provides resources for promoting lifestyle physical activities in adults and children. Many valuable resources can be found at this link. The key to becoming physically active is to incorporate activity into your daily life. The following tips are provided by the CDC to help you become more active:

There are 1440 minutes in every day... Schedule 30 of them for physical activity.

Adults need recess too! With a little creativity and planning, even the person with the busiest schedule can make room for physical activity. For many folks, before or after work or meals is often an available time to cycle, walk, or play. Think about your weekly or daily schedule and look for or make opportunities to be more active. Every little bit helps. Consider the following suggestions:

• Walk, cycle, jog, skate, etc., to work, school, the store, or place of worship.
• Park the car farther away from your destination.
• Get on or off the bus several blocks away.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
• Play with children or pets. Everybody wins. If you find it too difficult to be active after work, try it before work.
• Take fitness breaks-walking or doing desk exercises-instead of taking cigarette or coffee breaks.
• Perform gardening or home repair activities.
• Avoid labor-saving devices-turn off the self-propel option on your lawn mower or vacuum cleaner.
• Use leg power-take small trips on foot to get your body moving.
• Exercise while watching TV (for example, use hand weights, stationary bicycle/treadmill/stairclimber, or stretch).
• Dance to music.
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office. You'll be ready for activity wherever you go!
• Make a Saturday morning walk a group habit.
• Walk while doing errands.

Web06-04: Health Benefits from Lifestyle Physical Activity

Lifestyle physical activity can be performed by anyone regardless of fitness level. The benefits from lifestyle activity have been clearly documented in a number of studies.

One of the first studies to document the benefits of lifestyle (and occupational) physical activity was the London Bus Conductors study conducted by Dr. Jeremy Morris. In this study, the researchers monitored bus conductors and bus drivers in England for risks of coronary heart disease. The difference in occupational tasks between these groups made it an interesting comparison. The bus conductors on the double-decker buses frequently climb the stairs to collect tickets from the passengers while the bus drivers do not get much activity (see Figure to understand the difference in daily activity patterns between the two groups). The study found that the conductors had lower rates of dying than the more sedentary bus drivers. Since the scientists controlled for other possible influences and sources of bias, the likely difference in health can be attributed to just climbing stairs on a regular basis led to differences in health, and mortality.

A more recent study in Finland examined the beneficial health effects of cycling to work on all cause mortality. They reported that compared with sedentary individuals, individuals pursuing varying levels of leisure-time activity had 32-47% lower risks of dying. After controlling for this difference, they reported that individuals that cycled to work had significantly lower risks than those that did not. While bike commuting is not a popular activity in the United States the rates in Northern European countries is about 20-30%. Bike commuting is a great way to maintain your active lifestyle and also help out the environment in the process.

References:

Morris, J.N., Kagan, A., Pattison, D.C., Gardner, M.J., Raffle, P.A.B. (1966). Incidence and prediction of ischemic heart disease in London busmen. Lancet, 2, 553-559.

Andersen, L.B. Schnohr, P., Schroll, M., & Hein, H.O. (2000). All-cause mortality associated with physical activity during leisure time, work, sports, and cycling to work. Archives of Internal Medicine 160(11).

Web06-05: Calculating Calories Burned from Activity

Concept 7 provides estimates of the calories burned for a variety of different lifestyle activities. These calculations are relatively easy to make for other activities if you know the MET value (See Web07-01). All you need to remember is the following relationship:

Calories = METS x weight (kg) x time (hours)

These types of calculations are used in many types of commercial fitness equipment that provide estimates of energy expenditure. In some cases, the MET level can be estimated from the workload settings selected on the machine. In other cases, the machine may use an indicator of intensity such as heart rate to determine the MET level for the energy expenditure estimations. Some websites have also posted "activity calculators" that estimate the number of calories burned for different intensities and durations of activity. These procedures are based on the MET procedure described above. It is important to point out that these calculations only provide estimates. The only way to actually measure energy expenditure is with metabolic equipment in a laboratory. Try the following activity calculators:

Health Discovery Calorie Calculator: http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/calorie_calculator.htm

Nutrition.com Activity Calculator: http://www.nutrition.com.sg/ha/hasports.asp

Web06-06: Pedometers for Monitoring Physical Activity

Pedometers are mechanical devices that record the number of steps that a person takes. Researchers interested in studying physical activity have used these types of devices for many years but they are increasingly being used by individuals to prompt and remind them to be physically active. Pedometers are reasonably priced and are small enough to not be noticed on the body. There are a number of different devices and they vary in the type and number of features. Simple devices may measure only step counts but other more advanced models provide estimates of distance walked or calories burned. A new device also tracks time that is spent moving. This allows the average rate at which the steps were performed to be determined.

Visit the websites from some of the leading manufacturers for more information:

• Healthy Lifestyles (www.digiwalker.com)

  Yamax Digi-walker: includes models that count steps, measure distance, provides a timer, and calculates calories burned

  Newlifestyles: includes models that count steps, has 7-day memory, calculates activity minutes, and one that contains an accelerometer for a more accurate calculation of calories burned

• Accusplit (www.accusplit.com)

  Pedometer series: includes models that count steps, calculate calories burned, measure distance, and talk

• Walk for Life (www.walk4life.com)

  Pedometer series: includes models that count steps, display activity time, measure distance, count calories burned, and tell time

Web 06-7: Active Living by Design

Major efforts are underway by various public health groups to increase the use of walking and biking as a mode of transportation as well as improving communities accessibility to allow for active living. One organization called Active Living by Design (www.activelivingbydesign.org) is dedicated to promoting more active environments in society. This includes neighborhoods that allow physical activity to be built into a person's normal routine (going to the store / visiting friends) and communities with integrated biking paths and walking paths that allow for active commuting. Click here to see fact sheets on efforts to create more active environments in society from this organization and go to the ALbD Primer link. The American Planning Association also has recommendations and resources for creating a physically active community (click here for more details).

Web 06-8: Commuting as a Popular Lifestyle Physical Activity

There are a variety of activities that people can use to stay active. An activity that is often overlooked is commuting to work or school. In addition to providing beneficial amounts of physical activity, commuting may help to relieve stress. An overlooked advantage is also the cost savings to the individual and to society as a whole. See the estimated costs to travel a mile and average costs/savings per year.

Because commuting would reduce crowds on roads and highways and reduce the amount of carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere there is considerable interest in promoting commuting by other organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Data from the National Bicycling and Walking Study published by the DOT (www.dot.gov) suggest that an estimated 131 million Americans regularly bicycle or walk for exercise, sport or recreation. However, as a mode of transportation, bicycling and walking are rarely used. According to the survey, a total of 7.2% of all trips were made by walking and 7% by bicycling. A non profit organization called the National Center for Biking and Walking (http://www.bikewalk.org) has its primary mission as the promotion of biking and walking in communities. A commuter website has provided a specific page for biking and walking commuting.

Web06-09 Supplemental Web Resources

America on the Move - http://americaonthemove.org
American College of Sports Medicine - www.acsm.org
ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal - http://www.acsm.org/publications/health_fitness_journal.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - www.cdc.gov
National Center for Physical Activity and Disability - www.ncpad.org
National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity - www.ncppa.org
National Sporting Good Manufacturers Association - http://www.nsga.org
Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health - www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/sgr.htm

Web06-10 Supplemental Readings

References new to 7e/14e

• ACSM. 2006. ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. (7^th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippencott, Williams & Wilkins.
• Active Living Partners. 2006. First Steps: Your Healthy Living Journal. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Brown, W. J. et al. 2006. 10,000 steps Rockhampton: Evaluation of whole community approach to improving population levels of physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 3(1):1-14.
• Dannenberg, A. C., et al. 2005. Assessing the walkability in the workplace: A new audit tool. American Journal of Health Promotion. (5):39-44.
• Frank, L. D., et al. 2005. Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form: findings from SMARTRAQ. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 28 (2 Suppl): 117-125.
• Hultquist, C. N. et al. 2005. Comparison of walking recommendations in previously inactive women. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. 37(4):676-683.
• Humpel, N. et al., 2004. Changes in neighborhood walking are related to changes in perceptions of environmental attributes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 27(1): 60-67.
• Moudon, A.V et al. 2006. Operational definitions of walkable neighborhood: Theoretical and empirical insights. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 3(S1):S99-117.
• Murtagh, E. M. et al., 2005. The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk. Preventive Medicine. 41(1): 92-97.
• Peterson, J. et al. 2006. Differential effects of active living on quality of life at various levels of income. Health Education Research. 21(1):146-56.
• Sallis, J. F., et al. 2005. An Ecological Approach to Creating Active Living Communities. Annual Review of Public Health.
• Tullya, M. A., et al. 2005 Brisk walking, fitness, and cardiovascular risk: A randomized controlled trial in primary care. Preventive Medicine. 41(2): 622-628.
• Tudor-Locke et al., 2005. How many days of pedometer monitoring predict weekly physical activity in adults? Preventiv Medicine, 40(3): 293-298.

Rererences from Past Editions

• American College of Sports Medicine. The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitness, and Flexibility in Healthy Adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30(6)(1998):975.
• American College of Sports Medicine. Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30(6),(1998):992.
• American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 6^th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, 2000.
• Bassett, D. R. , Cureton, A. L., & Ainsworth, B. E. Measurement of daily walking distance-questionnaire versus pedometer. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 32(5), 1018-1023, 2000.
• Blair, S. N. & J. C. Connelly. How Much Physical Activity Should We Do? The Case for Moderate Amounts and Intensities of Physical Activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 67(2)(1996):193.
• Blair, S., et al. "Physical Activity and Health: A Lifestyle Approach." Medicine, Exercise, Nutrition and Health 1(1992):54.
• Corbin, C.B., & R. Lindsey. Fitness for Life. 4th ed. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1997.
• Corbin, C.B., & R.P. Pangrazi. Answers to Questions: How Much Physical Activity is Enough? Journal of Physical Education Recreation and Dance . 67(1996):33.
• Corbin, C. B. & R. P. Pangrazi. Physical Activity Pyramid Rebuffs Peak Exercise. ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal, 2(1)(1998):12.
• Corbin, C. B. & R. P. Pangrazi. (Editors), Towards a Better Understanding of Physical Fitness and Activity. Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb-Hathaway, 1999, Chapters 2 and 3.
• Franks, B. D. (1997). Individualized recommendations for physical activity. President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest, 3(1)(1997):1.
• Hatano, Y. Prevalence and use of pedometer. Research Journal for Walking. 1, 45-54, 1997.
• Pate, R.R. "Physical Activity and Health: Dose-Response Issues." Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 66(1995):313.
• Rippe, J., et al. "Walking for Health and Fitness." Journal of the American Medical Association 259(1988):2720.
• Roitman, J. L. (ed.) ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription 3^rd Ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1998.
• Shangold, M. M. (1998). Beyond the Exercise Prescription: Making Exercise as Way of Life. Physician and Sports Medicine. 26(11)(1998):35.
• Talbot, L. A., Metter, E. J., & Fleg, J. L. Leisure-time physical activities and their relationship to cardiovascular fitness in healthy men and women 18-95 years. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 32(2), 417-425, 2000.
• U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
• Welk, G. J. et al. (2000). The utility of the Digi-Walker step counter to assess daily physical activity patterns Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise . 32(9): S481-S488.
• Yamanouchi, K. T. et al. Daily walking combined with diet therapy is a useful means for obese NIDDM patients not only to reduce body weight but also to improve insulin sensitivity. Diabetes Care. 18, 775-778, 1995.