An American study involving 4500 adults (published in the American Journal of Health Promotion)
has concluded that short bursts of activity done regularly are as effective at
controlling weight as longer more involved regular sessions of exercise.
In other words, climbing stairs a few times a day, walking
for a few minutes at a good clip a few times a day, or similar bursts of
activity were deemed to be as effective in maintaining weight –and even losing
weight – as was a regime of regular and longer workouts.
Here’s a great rule for some of you to follow: 3 floors
up, 6 flights down; minimum
That’s for stairs, of course, versus elevators or
escalators..
This was drummed into me during med school by a prof who
noticed me waiting to take an elevator to go one floor up and who told me –
accurately - that I was too fat and too sedentary and that I needed to change
that for the rest of my life the new rule in a building was to use the stairs
for “3 floors up, 6 flights down; minimum”, and I’ve consistently followed that
advice for the last 40 years.
Easy to do, helps you feel good, and makes you feel so self-righteous
as you note all the people stuck waiting for the elevators.
