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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

Module 4: Active vs. Sedentary Lifestyle

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN FROM THIS MODULE?

At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. Explain the factors that cause sedentary and active lifestyles;

2. Calculate your Metabolic Equivalent (MET); and

3. Propose ways how to sustain an active lifestyle.

WHAT IS THIS MODULE ALL ABOUT?

This module is designed for you to assess and evaluate your lifestyle as a
student: active or sedentary. While college life is expected to be highly
academically demanding, you should realize that being engaged in regular
physical activities will help you overcome academic struggles and anxieties. This
module will help you balance academic life and physical fitness.
Despite the many benefits of a physically active lifestyle, many people,
particularly students like you, are not active enough to benefit your health. Other
individuals who start structured or regular exercise routines relapse within six
months. This is because exercise behaviors influence human cognition (thinking),
such as expectations, intention, beliefs, and attitude. Also, it is influenced by
external stimuli such as social pressure and experiences. You may intend and be
motivated to be physically active, but internal and external forces may prevent
you from engaging in exercise.

What makes up a ‘lifestyle’?

What you do in your life that makes you comfortable or find pleasure in
doing it, when consistently repeated, becomes your lifestyle. It is expressed in
your work and leisure behavior patterns and your choice of activities, attitudes,
interests, opinions, values, and allocation of income. Lifestyle also reflects your
self-image, the way you see yourself and believe others see them.
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Behaviors Lifestyle
Actions
(Repeated Actions) (consistent behaviors)

What is a sedentary lifestyle?

A sedentary lifestyle is where an individual does not receive regular

amounts of physical activity. If you keep sitting or lying down while engaged in an
activity like reading, socializing, watching television, playing video games, or
using a mobile phone or laptop computer for much of the day, you are living
sedentarily. Physical inactivity is considered the failure to meet the
recommendations of health and wellness standards stating that you should
participate in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of a
more vigorous regimen. Most health professionals also agree that walking 10,000
steps a day (approximately 5 miles) is the ideal goal for improving health and
reducing the health risks caused by inactivity. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), 60 to 85% of the population worldwide does not engage in
enough activity. Making physical inactivity the fourth leading risk factor for global
mortality.

What are the effects of a sedentary lifestyle? (John Hopkins Medicine)

 Physical inactivity may increase the risks of certain cancers.

 Physical inactivity may contribute to anxiety and depression.
 Physical inactivity is a risk factor for certain cardiovascular diseases.
 People who engage in more physical activity are less likely to develop
coronary heart disease.
 More active people are less likely to be overweight or obese.
 Sitting too much may cause a decrease in skeletal muscle mass.
 Physical inactivity is linked to high blood pressure and elevated
cholesterol levels.

What is an active lifestyle?

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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

An active lifestyle is a way of life that integrates physical activity into your
everyday routines, such as walking to the store, jogging, or biking to visit a friend.
Also, when you combine physical and recreational activities and make them a
habit, you must have an active lifestyle.

What are the effects of an active lifestyle?

1. Controlling Your Weight. Several people begin to exercise to shed a

few pounds. You can control your weight healthily when actively maintaining a
regular fitness regime. Burning calories and working up a good sweat will help
you lose any extra weight you may have and keep it off.

2. Combating Disease. Exercise will raise your heartbeat regularly, which

is essential to combating heart disease and heart attacks. In addition, you will
see lowered blood pressure and a boost in your good cholesterol, high-density
lipoprotein, and a decrease in unhealthy triglycerides. The combination of the
three of these will keep your blood flow healthy and clear. Furthermore, regular
exercise will help prevent or significantly lower your risk of stroke, arthritis,
diabetes, depression, and certain cancers

3. Boosting Your Energy. Although you might feel tired after a long, hard
workout, you will begin to notice an overall boost in your day-to-day energy. As
you become fit, you will have more energy to get through your day. In addition,
you will be able to deliver more oxygen to your cells and your cardiovascular
system allowing them to function at higher levels and for more extended periods.

4. Sleeping Better. If you are looking for a great night's sleep, wearing
yourself out through a long period of physical engagement will be the perfect way
to do so. Whether you are struggling with insomnia or just staying asleep, feeling
physically tired will help you fall asleep faster. Also, your sleep will be more
profound, and you will stay asleep longer. Just be sure to exercise far from your
regular bedtime, or you might be too energized to fall asleep.

Introducing Metabolic Equivalent (MET)

MET is one way to estimate how many calories are burned during physical
activity. A basic understanding of MET and how to use it can help you determine
the best physical activities to help you achieve health and fitness goals. Muscle
cells use oxygen to help produce the energy to fuel contractions; the more
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oxygen you consume during (and after) exercise, the more calories you burn.
The human body expends approximately five calories of energy to consume 1
liter of oxygen. The more oxygen your body uses during physical activity, the
more calories you burn. METs are used to estimate the energy expenditure for
many everyday physical activities. One MET is an individual's resting metabolic
rate (RMR) and is approximately 3.5 milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram
bodyweight per minute (mL/kg/min) and represents the amount of oxygen used
by the body while at rest, such as what you are doing right now while reading. An
activity that is 4 METs requires the body to use approximately four times as much
oxygen as at rest, which means it requires more energy and burns more calories.

Here are five things that you need to understand about METs and how to
use them when designing programs for your personal needs:

1. The Compendium of Physical Activity identifies MET values for

various physical activities.

Researchers have assigned MET values for everything from many

common types of exercise to relatively obscure activities like pulling a rickshaw.
For example, walking at a moderate pace of 2.8-3.2 miles per hour (mph) on a
level, firm surface is approximately 3.5 METs, which means that the body is
using 3.5 times the amount of oxygen than is required when sitting still at rest.
Running at 7.0 mph, which allows you to cover one mile in approximately 8.5
minutes, has a MET value of 11.0 (meaning your body uses approximately three
times the amount of oxygen used while walking and 11 times more oxygen than
sitting at rest). By the way, pulling a rickshaw is 6.3 METs.

2. Knowing the MET value of a physical activity, the duration of that

activity, and a little about the person participating in the activity, you can
estimate how many calories a minute that individual should burn to do that
activity.

Ask your client to pick a favorite physical activity or mode of exercise and
plug the MET value into the formula below to see how many calories they burn
per minute and whether or not they should increase the level of intensity or
duration to help achieve a specific goal like weight loss:

Formula:

METs x 3.5 x BW (kg) / 200 = Kcal/min.

For example:

Shane is a 40-year-old male who weighs 195 pounds. You can use this
formula to determine how many calories per minute he uses during some
of his regular activities:
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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

o 2 hours of bicycling @ 12.0 mph (METs: 8.0)

o 8.0 x 3.5 x 88.6 / 200 = 12.4 Kcal/min x 120 = 1488 Kcal
o 45 minutes of resistance training – explosive effort (METs: 5.0)
o 5.0 x 3.5 x 88.6 / 200 = 7.8 Kcal/min x 45 = 351 Kcal

3. One pound of fat contains approximately 3,500 calories of energy.

Using the formula, you can determine how long it would be necessary to
perform a given activity to burn 1 pound of fat.

For example, using the example above, Shane would have to ride his bike
at 12 mph, which burns 12.4 calories per minute, for 283 minutes to burn one
pound of fat. If his goal is to lose 10 pounds of body fat, he will have to cycle for
2,830 minutes or 47 hours, which is more than a full week of work.

4. Sit or stand? Many organizations are starting to realize the health

benefits of providing employees with standing desks.

Using the MET values for sitting and standing, we can see that Shane can
burn almost 30 percent MORE calories by simply standing instead of sitting for
one hour. Taking it a step further, we can see that it will take Shane about 1,250
minutes (approximately 21 hours) of standing to burn 1 pound of fat.

 Standing at work for 40 minutes compared to sitting at work for 60 min.

o 1.8 x 3.5 x 88.6 / 200 = 2.8 Kcal/min x 60 = 168 Kcal

o 1.3 x 3.5 x 88.6 / 200 = 2 Kcal/min x 60 = 120 Kcal

o 1 pound of fat - 3,500 calories / 2.8 Kcal/min = 1,250 minutes

5. If you want to help your clients maximize their energy expenditure,

look at their activities of daily living to see which ones burn the most
calories.

While not fun, doing chores can be physically demanding and an excellent
way to burn additional calories without having to carve out time for a separate
exercise session.

The values in the Compendium do not estimate the energy cost of

[physical activity] in individuals in ways that account for differences in body mass,
adiposity, age, sex, the efficiency of movement, and geographic and
environmental conditions in which the activities are performed. An individual's
energy cost may not be close to the stated mean MET value as presented." In
other words, MET values can provide a broad estimate of how many calories are
used, but it isn't exact. However, they still can help plan more efficient workouts
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and estimate how many calories are being used during a wide range of activities,
including yard work, running errands, or hitting the gym for your favorite workout.

Here is a table of MET values for many popular activities:

From the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities

Activity METs

Bicycling; 12-13.9 mph (leisure, moderate effort) 8.0

Bicycling; mountain-biking, uphill, vigorous effort 14.0

Stationary cycling; (moderate-to-vigorous effort / 90-100 watts) 6.8

Circuit training, including kettlebells, vigorous intensity, minimal 8.0

rest

Resistance (weight) training – squats, explosive effort 5.0

Resistance (weight) training – multiple exercises, 8-15 reps 3.5

Jumping rope 12.3

Hatha Yoga 2.5

Home activity – cleaning, sweeping, moderate effort 3.5

Home activity – laundry – folding, putting away clothes (incl. 2.3

walking)
Playing with children, moderate effort (only active periods) 3.5

Gardening – general, moderate effort 3.8

Running – 6 mph (10 min./mile) 9.8

Running – 14 mph (4.3 min./mile) 23.0

Tennis – singles 8.0

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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

Basketball – general 6.5

Walking for exercise – brisk pace (3.5 mph) 4.3

Swimming laps – freestyle/crawl light-moderate effort 5.8

Hiking (hills w/10-20lb. load) 7.3

Exercise/activity-based video game – moderate effort (e.g., Wii 3.8

Fit)

Video exercise (DVD/TV) cardio-resistance, moderate effort 4.0

Sitting – at desk / watching TV/reading 1.3

Standing – working on computer/reading/talking on the phone 1.8

METs (Metabolic Equivalents)

A standard metabolic equivalent (MET) is a unit used to estimate the

amount of oxygen the body uses during physical activity. 1 MET = the energy
(oxygen) the body uses at rest while sitting quietly or laying down. The more
complex your body works during an activity, the more oxygen is consumed and
the higher the MET level you are performing at.

Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine state that we

need to exercise 150 minutes (2.5 hrs) per week at a moderate intensity.
Moderate intensity is raising your metabolism four times your resting state (4
METs), meaning we need a minimum of 10 METs per week (2.5 x 4 = 10) to
lower our disease risk. How many METs did you achieve this week? The chart
below shows MET targets for selected age groups.
Female Male
Age MET target Age METs target
20 12.1 20 12.5
25 11.4 25 11.9
30 10.8 30 11.4
35 10.1 35 10.8
40 9.5 40 10.3
45 8.8 45 9.7
50 8.2 50 9.2
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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

55 7.5 55 8.6
60 6.9 60 8.1
65 6.2 65 7.5
70 5.6 70 7
75 4.9 75 6.4
80 4.3 80 5.9
Programme Progress:
4 months 10 METs
8 months 15 METs
12 months 20 METs

1. Reducing Stress. Working out is a great way to relieve stress from a

tough day at work or a challenge you are facing in your life. Building up a sweat
releases a chemical in your body called norepinephrine, which is your body’s
natural way of fighting and moderating stress.

2. Improving Self-Confidence. Getting in shape is an easy way to boost

your self-confidence. Whether to stay fit or shed a few pounds, you will feel great
after every exercise session.

3. Sharpening Your Memory. Maintaining a regular fitness regime will

improve your memory and ability to learn new things. Working up a sweat will
enable your body to produce more cells in the hippocampus – the area of the
brain where memory and learning take place.

4. Increasing Relaxation. Even after a long day, allowing yourself to have

a moderate workout will help you stay calm and feel more relaxed. Working out
will also release endorphins, which will help you curb any anxiety you could be
facing. Either way, go for a short jog or walk when you need to feel more relaxed.

5. Preventing Cognitive Decline. As you age, your brain will begin to

decline in its functions and abilities. Although regular exercise is not a cure for
this or mental health issues such as Alzheimer’s, those who practice regular
exercise between the ages of 25-45 will boost the chemical production in the
brain. Having this regular boost in your youth will help your brain maintain its
function and abilities longer.

Are You Fit for Your Age?

The amount and intensity of physical activity are equally important. There
is a set target of fitness for us to meet as we continue to age. For example, did
you know that a fifteen-year-old girl should be capable of raising her metabolism
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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

13 times her resting state or that a woman 65 years should be capable of raising
hers to 6? Prevention is all about fitness. I'm not talking about competitiveness;
I'm talking about getting involved in regular physical activity. Setting a goal to
achieve your MET target will lower your risk of disease and enhance your quality
of life.
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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

I DARE YOU

1. List down the exercises or physical activities you can find in a gym. After
which, find an alternative exercise or physical activity you can do at home or
school.

Exercises or activities in the gym Alternative activities that can be

done at home or in school

2. Based on your assessment, do you think you should change your lifestyle?
Describe the ideal transformation.
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3. Calculate your MET

Using the formula given in the previous section, you calculate the calories
you will burn by doing the different activities in the table below. You will use your
body weight; the duration can be found in columns 2 and 3 of the table below.
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Physical Education 1: Movement Enhancement

Calculating Personal MET Values

MET Per Per 15 Activity
level hour minutes
0.90 Sleeping
1 Awake, resting quietly, any quiet sitting activity
1.5 Active sitting activities
2 Walking slowly, grooming, light housework(2.5 METs)
3 Jobs that require mostly standing walking 2.5 mph
4 Recreational sports, heavy cleaning
5 Gardening, tasks that involve lifting
6 High-intensity recreational activities such as dancing,
badminton, swimming, volleyball, basketball
7 Jogging or running above 5.5 mph; many competitive
sports
8 High-intensity running, basketball, badminton,
swimming

BOTTOM LINE
Loving yourself means taking good care of your well-being, starting with
your lifestyle. This is particularly challenging when you are a regular or a working
student. You must balance your academic life and your commitment to being
physically active.