積跬步至千里,國外計步器引發的健身潮

Working out at the gym might not be enough to stay fit if you spend much of the rest of the day sitting down.

如果一天到晚老是坐着，光靠在健身房裏做做運動，恐怕是難以保持良好體型的。

Americans are more sedentary than ever, government surveys show. That is a problem even among people who exercise regularly.

利用日常活動充分運動官方調查顯示，美國人久坐不動的情況比以往更加普遍。哪怕是經常鍛鍊的人，也存在着這樣的問題。

An increasingly popular way people are trying to coax more exercise into their lives is by tracking their movements using a bevy of small electronic devices from companies like Fitbit Inc., Jawbone and Nike. Some devices are pedometers, tracking steps. More sophisticated gadgets, known as accelerometers, measure the rate at which a person moves and convert this into calories expended.

現在越來越流行的一種做法是，用Fitbit Inc.、Jawbone、耐克(Nike)等公司出產的一些小型電子設備跟蹤記錄自己的運動量，以此鼓勵自己多做運動。這其中，既包括記錄步數的計步器，也包括一些更復雜的儀器，如加速計，它可以測量走路的速度，並計算出對應的卡路里消耗量。

'We've been very focused on exercise and making sure you get your half-an-hour a day of moderate and vigorous physical activity. But what we've not focused on so much is how you spend the rest of your day,' says Bonnie Spring, director of the Center for Behavior and Health at Northwestern University.

西北大學(Northwestern University)行爲與健康中心(Center for Behavior and Health)主任邦尼•斯普林(Bonnie Spring)說：“一直以來我們都非常關注運動，確保自己每天能有那麼半個小時做一些強度適中或較大的運動。但我們沒有注意到的是，每天其餘的時間我們都在幹些什麼。”

Americans on average take 5,117 steps a day, according to a 2010 study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. A good daily goal, by contrast, is 10,000 steps, according to the American Heart Association and other experts. Research studies have found that such a regimen results in modest weight loss, improved glucose tolerance in people at risk of developing diabetes and other benefits, says David Bassett Jr., co-author of the 2010 study and a professor in the department of kinesiology, recreation and sport studies at the University of Tennessee.

《運動與鍛鍊中的醫學與科學》(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)雜誌2010年刊登的一篇研究論文指出，美國人平均每天走5117步。而美國心臟協會(American Heart Association)及一些專家表示，每天的理想走路步數應爲10,000步。上述2010年研究論文的作者之一、田納西大學(University of Tennessee)運動機能學、休閒與體育研究系教授小戴維•巴西特(David Bassett Jr.)稱，研究發現，每天的步行數達到理想水平，可以幫助糖尿病患病風險高的人羣適當減輕體重、改善葡萄糖耐受性，此外還有其他一些好處。

Walking a mile roughly equals 2,000 steps. Climbing a flight of stairs─roughly 10 steps─is equivalent to taking 38 steps on level ground, Dr. Bassett says.

巴西特博士指出，步行一英里（約1.6公里）需要走大約2000步。爬一層樓梯（大約10級）相當於在平地行走38步。

A study that followed more than 240,000 adults over 8½ years found that watching a large amount of television was associated with a higher risk of death, including from cardiovascular disease─even for participants who reported seven or more hours a week of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. The research, published in 2012 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, used TV viewing and overall sitting time as a proxy for sedentary behavior.

一項在八年半的時間內持續跟蹤了24萬多名成年人的研究發現，看電視時間長的人因罹患心血管等疾病而死亡的風險更高，哪怕是自稱一週進行七個小時或更長時間中高強度鍛鍊的人也不例外。此項研究採用看電視時間和總計坐着的時間作爲評估久坐行爲的指標，研究結果於2012年發表在《美國臨牀營養學雜誌》(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)上。

'Our results suggest that exercise alone may not be enough to eliminate risks associated with too much sitting,' says Charles Matthews, lead author of the study and an investigator with the National Institutes of Health. He says estimates from government surveys indicate that people's sedentary time outside of work has increased by about 40% between 1965 and 2009.

該研究論文的第一作者、美國國立衛生研究院(National Institutes of Health)的研究員查爾斯•馬修斯(Charles Matthews)說：“我們的研究結果表明，運動本身不足以消除因久坐而導致的（各種健康）風險。”他稱，官方調查所得估計數據顯示，從1965年到2009年，人們在工作之外的久坐時間上升了大約40%。

People who live in Colorado, where obesity rates are relatively low, take an average of 6,500 steps a day, a 2005 study found. By contrast, residents of Tennessee and Arkansas, where the obesity rates are much higher, take an average of 4,500 steps a day. 'We don't know that it's cause and effect obviously, but the states with lower obesity rates have the higher number of steps,' says James Hill, executive director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado.

2005年的一項研究發現，在肥胖率相對較低的科羅拉多州，人們平均每天步行6500步。而在肥胖率相對高得多的田納西州和阿肯色州，人們日均步行4500步。科羅拉多大學(University of Colorado)安秀茲健康中心(Anschutz Health and Wellness Center)執行主任詹姆斯•希爾(James Hill)說：“我們不清楚這其中有什麼明顯的因果關係，但肥胖率較低州的居民日均步行數確實較高。”

All the movements a person does during the day─from getting up to close the garage to rocking in a chair─are non-scheduled physical activities that can make a big difference in terms of daily calorie expenditure by causing a person's metabolism to increase, says Gabriel Koepp, program manager of the Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. While walking is the main NEAT activity, other things can include washing the dishes instead of using a dish washer, making bread dough by hand rather than using a mixer, and even chewing gum, he says.

明尼蘇達州羅切斯特(Rochester)的梅奧診所(Mayo Clinic)有一個非運動性日常活動熱效應(Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, 簡稱NEAT)實驗室，該實驗室的項目經理加布裏埃爾•克普(Gabriel Koepp)表示，人們的日常起居活動（從起牀到結束一天的工作回家坐到椅子上）不屬於既定的體育鍛煉，但同樣能夠加速新陳代謝，因此對每日卡路里的消耗量也會產生巨大影響。他說，除了走路這種主要的NEAT活動，我們可以做的事情還包括不用洗碗機自己動手洗碗、不用和麪器自己動手和麪，甚至嚼口香糖（也有幫助）。

Health experts say people still need moderate to vigorous exercise, which has been shown to reduce risks of cardiovascular disease and other disorders. Dr. Bassett says a doctoral student in his department conducted a study in which 58 people watching 90 minutes of television marched in place in front of the TV during commercial breaks. 'They increased their steps by about 3,000 per day just by doing this during commercials,' says Dr. Bassett. 'That's equivalent to about 30 minutes of walking.' The study was published last year in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

健康專家表示，人們還是需要進行一些適度或高強度的運動，事實表明這種運動有助於降低罹患心血管和其他疾病的風險。巴西特博士稱，他們系一個博士生進行過一項研究，要求58名參與者看電視90分鐘，中間遇到廣告時就進行原地踏步運動。巴西特博士說：“通過在廣告時間這麼做，他們每天的步行數增加了3000步左右。這相當於大約30分鐘的走路時間了。”這項研究成果已於去年發表在《國際行爲營養與體力活動期刊》(International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity)上。

Pedometers have been shown, at least in the short term, to motivate some people to increase their daily activity if they chart progress toward a goal in a diary. More sophisticated accelerometers, with wireless synchronization, effectively log your progress for you.

實踐表明，計步器至少可以在短期內鼓勵一些人增加日常活動量，只要他們能用計步器記錄自己在鍛鍊上每天所取得的進步。更復雜、帶無線同步功能的加速計可以有效地記錄使用者每天的進步情況。

In a 2007 analysis of several studies, people who used pedometers increased the number of steps taken by an average 2,491 a day and boosted overall physical activity by about 27% from previous levels, says Dena Bravata, a senior science affiliate at the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford University.

斯坦福大學(Stanford University)基礎護理與效果研究中心(Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research)的高級研究員德娜•布拉瓦塔(Dena Bravata)介紹說，2007年一個基於幾項研究的分析顯示，使用計步器者可日均增加步行數2491步，總體活動量較使用計步器前水平提高約27%。

Participants' body-mass index, a common measure of healthy weight, and blood pressure also declined, she says. The analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved a total of 2,767 participants who were followed on average for 18 weeks.

她說，參與者的體質指數(BMI，一個衡量人體體重是否健康的常用指標)和血壓也均有所下降。該分析發表於《美國醫學會雜誌》(Journal of the American Medical Association)，共涉及2767位參與者，他們平均被跟蹤研究的時長爲18周。

Eric Lent, of Atlanta, says starting to use an accelerometer made him 'aware of how much time I was sitting in my office.' The device─after he lost his Nike FuelBand, he replaced it with a Jawbone UP─motivates him to regularly work out and to be less sedentary through the day, says the 44-year-old chief marketing officer for an entertainment company.

亞特蘭大的埃裏克•倫特(Eric Lent)表示，開始使用加速計令他“意識到自己坐在辦公室的時間有多久”。他先是使用的Nike FuelBand，丟失後換成了Jawbone UP。這種儀器鼓勵他定期鍛鍊，減少一天當中坐着的時間。倫特今年44歲，在一家娛樂公司擔任首席營銷長。

Mr. Lent says he makes a point of parking in the farthest spot from the entrance to work. And he sets the Jawbone UP to vibrate if he is idle for 30 minutes or more. He aims to do 10,000 steps each day.

倫特表示，他會把車停在離辦公樓入口最遠的車位上。他還把Jawbone UP設置成“偷懶”30分鐘以上就發出振動提醒的狀態。倫特的目標是每天行走10,000步。

Carrie Mundy, a stay-at-home mom and photographer in San Diego, bought her Fitbit in February. She says she is regularly hitting 15,000 steps a day and has already lost 4½ pounds. To accumulate more steps, the 36-year-old says she walks down every aisle in the grocery store and makes extra trips back and forth when folding and putting away her laundry.

聖地亞哥的卡麗•芒迪(Carrie Mundy)現年36歲，是一個居家媽媽和攝影師，她在2月份買了個Fitbit。她說自己每天定量走15,000步，已經減掉了4.5磅（約兩公斤）的體重。她說，爲了提高自己的步行數，她會把雜貨店裏的每條過道都走上一遍，還會在洗衣機前邊收拾衣服邊在原地顛步走。

Ms. Mundy says her Fitbit also motivates her to get out and walk. 'I'm constantly chasing these two people who I haven't caught up to,' she says, referring to two friends whose total number of steps she can view on her device's display screen.

芒迪說，Fitbit還促使她更多地出去走動。她說她可以在自己的Fitbit顯示屏上看到兩個朋友的步行數，“我一直在追趕這兩個我還沒有趕上的傢伙”。

'It's like a videogame. I have such a competitive personality, so I'm going to beat these people today.'

她說：“這就像玩視頻遊戲。我這個人非常好強，今天我就要打敗他們。”