(Taken from the Ultramarathon World Archives - 2004)
‘How far we’ve fallen in the last 150 years’
Modern life kills. The old ways that keep us fit and strong.
That’s the finding of David Bassett Jr. of the University of Tennessee who studied residents of St. Jacob’s, an Old Order Amish community in Southern Ontario, and has concluded that that there is much to commend about their old-fashioned ways.
In the modern world of space travel and high technology, the Amish still travel by horse and buggy, plow their fields without modern machinery and eat food they grow and cook themselves.
The study was intended to test the theory that widespread health problems in North America today are directly connected with a decrease in the level of physicl activity that was once the norm.
‘Tremendous difference’
Bassett, who equipped 98 study participants with pedometers and recorded their activities in detail over a one week period, found a “tremendous difference in the quantity” of activity among the Amish compared to other North Americans.
Among the findings.
� Amish men averaged 18,425 steps a day (about 9 miles or nearly 15 kilometres) and Amish women averaged 14,196 steps (about 7 miles or 11 kilometres).
� Amish men reported 12 hours of walking a week and women 5.7 hours a week.
� The activities of Amish men included 10 hours of vigorous physical activity each week and 42.8 hours of moderate physical activity. Women performed 2.4 hours of vigorous physical activity and 39.2 hours a week of moderate physical activity.
� 25% of men and 27% of men were overweight, but 0% of the men and only 9% of the women were obese.
� The Amish maintained a diet similar to the pre-World War era - high in fat and sugar, including meat, potatoes, gravy, eggs, fresh vegetagles, bread, pies and cake.
“The Amish were able to show us just how far we’ve fallen in the last 150 years or so in terms of the amount of physical activity we typically perform,” Bassett says.
“Their lifestyle indicates that physical activity played a critical role in keeping our ancestors fit and healthy.”
The findings are published in the January issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
More information:
� St. Jacobs web site
