Antonella Viola: «The elixir of life is movement»

mkeep muscles strong and heart healthy. Identify a model of beauty that increasingly coincides with health and well-being and not with conforming to standards and stereotypes. Stay moving. And above all, learn not to reject time, but to welcome it by preparing the body.

Antonella Viola, biologist and professor of General Pathology at theUniversity of Padua, he has a very clear position on this: «Muscle is the most abundant tissue in our body. It should therefore come as no surprise that the state of health of the muscles is directly reflected on the other tissues, organs and systems that make up the human body» specifies the doctor who has just published The way of balance (Feltrinelli), a very clear manual that talks about prevention, gender and sustainable longevity. A goal that can be achieved by banning laziness and enhancing physical activity.

Let’s start here: why is movement so important?
Because it has a great function in preventing aging. First, because it increases calorie consumption and improves the efficiency of our metabolism. Consequently, it keeps blood sugar and the accumulation of adipose tissue under control, the weight gain that leads to metabolic dysfunctions typical not only of the second part of our lives, but unfortunately increasingly evident also in young people, due, on the one hand of a wrong diet, too rich in calories, sugars and animal fats, and on the other an excessive sedentary lifestyle.

Imperative: keep moving

What’s the good news?
That movement is that part of caloric expenditure on which we can act directly, a part that can be modulated and that not only improves our metabolism, but keeps the heart functioning efficiently and acts on muscles and bones. Over time, we see a loss of muscle mass and strength, and also the weakening of our bones. In osteoporosis, a typical phenomenon of women, physical activity can greatly help fight the loss of bone density and strengthen the musculoskeletal system.

Can we say that women have a greater need to play sports due to their predisposition to osteoporosis and a slower metabolism than men?
Metabolism varies from person to person, so I wouldn’t say it’s slower in all women than in men. For us, the big change is due to menopause, while there is no andropause. In men there is a drop in testosterone, 25 percent have a significant decrease, in others it is lighter and spread over the years. On the other hand, in women the drop in estrogen is very sudden, it alters and changes the metabolism. Unlike men, before menopause women do not tend to accumulate visceral fat, but afterwards they do, with the classic increase in waistline. Conversely, loss of muscle strength occurs faster in men than in women, for reasons we still don’t know. So they too need to develop strength to prevent this loss.

Movement and brain health

There is no running away, we all have to move. How does exercise affect the brain? What effect can it have on depression and dementia or on memory?
The brain is a field still under great exploration of which we know a lot, but still little with respect to its interaction with our whole body. However, we know that, for example, all those exercises which involve coordination of the body in space and the repetition of movements, such as, for example, dancing or some aerobic exercises carried out following a pre-established rhythm and, last but not least, practiced in company, greatly stimulate the brain, help to keep it active even in patients suffering from cognitive deficits.

Women tend to choose disciplines that favor a collaboration between body and external physical space, many of oriental origin. In your opinion why?
Heh, good question! Probably because there is a greater need for research, for harmony, balance, peace. Women are looking for something that also acts against the stress they are subjected to during the day. These are very important exercises for coordination and flexibility. But they are not enough.

How much movement to do?

What is the right “dose”?
The guidelines recommend two types of exercises: at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, as can be a brisk walk, or 75 of a slightly sustained run or bicycle. Plus a couple of sessions dedicated to strength, that is the type of activity in which we stimulate the muscles to lift weights, such as our own body or gym equipment. This mix trains the muscles and the cardiovascular system, and protects them over time.

Is there a different attitude between men and women in perceiving sporting practice? Are “they” more energetic, even in the choice of disciplines? And can the greater female “laziness” be justified by a hormonal difference?
No, the difference is only cultural, not biological, but gender. There is a campaign that has started all over the world to push girls towards sport. Even as children, parents do not stimulate them as they do for boys, they tend to keep them at home or direct them towards other interests. And this is the classic example of health declined according to gender: the data speak for themselves, the lack of encouragement of girls and boys towards physical activity has a major impact on women’s health, because it exposes them to greater risk, as adults, weight gain, metabolic problems and osteoporosis.

Is this the same reason why women choose less competitive workouts, where it’s not important to finish first?
We have great champions who show us how with dedication and perseverance they achieve incredible results. This makes us understand that there is not a problem of ineptitude of the body but only a cultural theme. These are also stereotypes from the past, in the new generations I don’t see all these differences, boys and girls are much more similar to each other. But yes, it is undoubtedly education that influences choices. Clearly there are biological differences between the male and female bodies. For example, lung capacity is greater in men, as is muscle mass, so it is obvious that performance will be different. But culture plays a role in attitude, not biology: the brain is no different, there is no reason why a man should be more competitive than a woman.

What about the whole testosterone thing?
It is a hoax that no longer holds up. If I educate a girl to be moderate, not to speak unless questioned, not to show too much ambition, it is obvious that she will grow up more “calm”. In addition, very often women are asked to be good at everything, while men are required to focus on a very clear goal, a “specialization” that gives them greater confidence and aggressiveness. The brain has no sex, but it is plastic: it is true that we have the same potential, but then the brain is educated. It depends how.

Also pay attention to nutrition

Balance and attention to the body, also from the point of view of nutrition, are issues that seem to interest women more, at least as an aspiration.
I wouldn’t generalize, I know many men who pay attention to their bodies, exercise and take care of their diet. Let’s say that the strength and the great difference that anchor us to the body, as well as obviously to motherhood, depend on the fact that we have a different biological time than that of men. We are linked to the time of the body and to the changes we experience, from puberty, with the onset of menstruation, to their monthly cycles: a guide that reminds us that we are animals, mammals. Finally, menopause tells us how biological time is very defined. All these changes, which do not exist in men, give prominence to the body, it is as if it were demanding attention and a search for balance. A work was recently published in the journal Science in which the researchers saw that circadian rhythms, i.e. the oscillations with which our cells produce proteins and hormones, have a greater rhythmicity in women, fluctuating much more during the day. our bond with body time is much tighter.

There are no standards in body positivity

We often talk about body positivity, the appreciation of a body that is not totally adequate to the standards of beauty and above all thinness. But is there a limit, so to speak, in “softness” that must not be exceeded?
Of course, in one direction and another. The range of normality, from a medical point of view, is very wide. This includes very slender people and even the most shapely ones. Going beyond these parameters, underweight and overweight, puts hormonal functioning and the immune system at risk. Therefore the correct concept of body positivity must contemplate that each of us is different, we are not all the same and we must not aim for a standard, because genetics has a very important role in determining our ideal weight. Everyone will have his side and it’s good to try to always stay inside.

Do you do gymnastics?
I’ve been training since I was more or less 23 years old. I started late because as a young girl, precisely culturally, it was never offered to me. More or less four times a week, what is not missing is the brisk walk.

She is a real model. How do you overcome laziness to access such constant training?
Well, first of all, trying to figure out which of the various activities we really like. Then the body comes to our aid: when you exercise, dopamine is produced, endorphins are produced, so you feel pleasure, the body gets used to it, it almost requires us to exercise. So the hard part is getting started…

iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED