Spending time with physically active people can inspire you to exercise and fight sedentary lifestyles.
- One in four adults worldwide do not engage in physical activity at globally recommended levels.
- People between the ages of 18 and 64 should devote at least 150 to 300 minutes per week to moderate-intensity endurance activity.
“According to previous research, peer interactions have been identified as an essential factor in increasing the physical activity of a population”, said researchers from Kean University (USA). To test this theory, they developed a mathematical model that simulates how social interactions can influence our athletic activity over time. In a study published in the journal Plos Onetheir “aim is to establish criteria for the social influences on physical activity that lead to exercise persistence.”
Sport: social interactions encourage sedentary adults to become more active
According to the results, the absence of social interactions led to a long-term decrease in sedentary behavior and a decline in physically active populations. However, when simulations included social interactions between sedentary and moderately active people, sedentary adults became more physically active over the long term. “In simulations where moderately active patients became more sedentary over time, general patterns of physical activity plummeted,” the authors said in a statement.
Health recommendations to boost physical activity levels
Although these simulations have not been validated by real data, the team said they provide new information that could contribute to health recommendations aimed at boosting physical activity levels in communities. Further work is needed to better understand the balance between motivation to exercise in sedentary people and maintenance of activity levels in moderately active adults, say the scientists.
