Exercise v Genetics

When those extra kilos simply refuse to budge, it’s tempting to blame your genes. You can even convince yourself there’s no point going to the gym or watching what you eat because your long-term health and body shape are in the lap of the gods – or the genetic gods anyway. Think again.

New research is challenging the idea that our genes have a major say in our health. A study from Brigham & Women’s Hospital, USA, found that living a long and healthy life is much more about exercising regularly, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight than it is about inheriting the ‘right’ genes. Apparently only 25 per cent of how you age may be based on your gene pool, the rest is in your hands.

“It does look as though lifestyle and living conditions are important,” says Dr Jan Ritchie, Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales. While good living conditions, a supportive family, a good diet, having a job and feeling connected to other people play a role in our health, physical activity is vital, she says.

“Being physically active helps our physical ageing and is valuable for social and mental health, too,” Dr Ritchie says. “I spent a few years working with the Heart Foundation in the late ’80s and then we believed you had to huff and puff for a good 20 minutes at least three times a week to prolong your life.

“We now know any kind of physical activity is good for you and it can be spread across the day. Huff and puff exercise is good to build stamina, but any kind of exercise is good.”

Great expectations?

The Brigham & Women’s Hospital study involved monitoring the weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and exercise routine of 2357 men for more than 20 years. About 41 per cent of the men lived to 90 or more and they shared common lifestyles. Smoking, diabetes, obesity and hypertension significantly reduced the likelihood of a 90-year life span, while regular vigorous exercise substantially improved it, the study concluded.

Broken down, the study found a sedentary lifestyle resulted in a 44 per cent chance of reaching 90. If you have high blood pressure, your chances drop to 36 per cent. If you’re obese you have a 26 per cent chance, and if you’re a smoker you’ve got a 22 per cent chance of celebrating your 90th.

If you want to live longer and better, stop smoking and start exercising! Regular exercise will help you control your weight, improve your heart health and lower blood pressure, reduce your chances of getting diabetes and even improve your mood. Even if heart problems or diabetes do run in your family, keeping active can improve your odds of avoiding them.

Exercise can also help maintain bone and muscle strength, flexibility and mobility – so you can do more as you age.
“Weight-bearing exercise, where you have the pull of gravity one way and your muscles pulling the other way through your long bones, is good for osteoporosis prevention,” Dr Ritchie says.

“Mobility and balance are also important. There is a huge problem in older people of falls and broken hips, and poor coordination and balance are contributing factors in those falls. Exercise that aids balance and coordination is important, and so is keeping your joints flexible.

“People who use a gym can find all these benefits – mobility, flexibility, coordination, balance and heart health – plus enjoy feeling better when they exercise. Your attitude, mood and feelings of self-worth improve with exercise.”

Changing the mindset

Jacqui Louder, Fernwood’s consultant psychologist, says it’s easy to blame genes or age for aches and pains – and so do nothing about them.

“As we get older we expect things to start going wrong with our body and we use that as an easy ‘out’, rather than saying ‘I could be 50 and going for a run every day to feel better’.” Jacqui says women often find other things to focus on instead of making their fitness and health a priority.

“Women with children spend years putting themselves last in the family and develop bad habits. When they haven’t exercised regularly because they have looked after the family, they think it’s too hard to get started. Women tell themselves ‘I’m too overweight. I don’t want people to see me like this’, rather than saying ‘I may be a little uncomfortable for a while when I start exercising, but I’ll focus on the long-term gain’,” she says.

Jacqui recommends realistic and simple goals. “People say they will exercise seven days a week. But if you haven’t exercised for years you are setting yourself up for failure. Grab a friend so exercise becomes one component of the activity and it also becomes a social activity. Go for a walk and then go for a coffee.”

Build up a support network who’ll look after the kids while you go to the gym, or make exercise a family time by walking the dog or going for a bike ride.