You only need 11 minutes of exercise a day to live longer.

 

Are you as shocked to read that as I am?  For years we have been hearing that you need 60 minutes of exercise a day to be healthier - an amount that most people consider to be unreachable.  Now it turns out that while 35 minutes a day is the exercise sweet spot, even 11 minutes a day of moderate exercise will improve longevity significantly. (Reynolds, 2020)

 

So, why the change?  Better data.  What made it better?  It wasn't based on consumer surveys. 

 

Ask a person how many hours they sat still yesterday and you will get a wrong answer.  Ask a person how many minutes they exercised yesterday and you will get a wrong answer.  Why?  Because most of us aren't tuned in enough to our actions to be accurate when we are asked to recap them.

 

That's why we need to seek actual behavioral data when we do research.

 

A new study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine in November analyzed the exercise habits of 44,000 middle-aged and older individuals based on the data from the fitness trackers that they wore.  (Ekelund, Tarp, Fagerland, et al, 2020)

 

What they found is that people can be divided into three groups - less than 11 minutes of exercise a day, 11 minutes to 35 minutes of exercise a day and 35+ minutes of exercise a day. 

 

While the latter group lived the longest.  The middle group didn't do so badly either.  With as little as 11 minutes of exercise a day. 

 

That's a low enough bar that some people who got discouraged by the 60 minute threshold might be inspired to participate and reap the rewards.  But first they have to know about the new findings.  So spread the word.   

 

11 minutes of exercise a day.  

 

Say it over and over again until people actually hear it.

 

 

Reynolds, G. (2020, December 2)  11 Minutes of Exercise a Day May Help Counter the Effects of Sitting.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/well/move/exercise-sitting-longevity.html

 

Ekelund U, Tarp J, Fagerland MW, et al

Joint associations of accelero-meter measured physical activity and sedentary time with all-cause mortality: a harmonised meta-analysis in more than 44 000 middle-aged and older individuals

British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:1499-1506.  Retrieved December 16, 2020, from

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1499

It's not too early to call Nasdaq's rebranding a success.

 

Last Tuesday, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC to introduce a diversity rule for the participants in their index.  The rule will require listed companies to have at least one woman on their boards, in addition to a director who is a racial minority or one who self-identifies as LGBTQ.  (Osipovich & Otani, 2020)

 

Traditionally, what has differentiated Nasdaq from the other exchanges was the heavy presence of tech stocks.  But the S&P 500 has been adding more tech to their mix over the past few years and on December 21st, they will add Tesla.  So they have effectively usurped Nasdaq's tech-heavy positioning.

 

That means Nasdaq needs a new way to differentiate themselves.  Wisely they chose to champion diversity. 

 

It's not just about being trendy, although it is, with the BLM and #metoo movements in the forefront these days. 

 

It's also about being more successful.  Research has shown that companies with diverse boards are more effective.  Specifically the presence of women at the top levels of management and leadership correlate with better financial performance for companies. (McElhaney & Mobasseri, 2012)

 

Boards with female directors make better acquisition and investment decisions. (Chen, Leung, Song & Goergen, 2019)

 

And a recent study from McKinsey found that the companies with the greatest ethnic diversity on executive teams outperformed those with the least by 36% in profitability. (Lee, 2020)

 

So an investment in Nasdaq will not only support diversity, but it is also likely to reap greater financial rewards.

 

And, it's a blissfully easy positioning to communicate. 

 

With all the indices breaking records these days it is a bit difficult to see if Nasdaq's bounce is due to their new brand positioning.  And with 3/4 of the 3000 listed companies not meeting the new diversity criteria it will be a while before the full results of the change are realized.  (Cutter, 2020)

 

But, I really think they are onto something.

 

 

Osipovich,A. & Otani, A. (2020, December 2)  Nasdaq Seeks Board-Diversity Rule That Most Listed Firms Don’t Meet.  wsj.com.  Retrieved December 9, 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/nasdaq-proposes-board-diversity-rule-for-listed-companies-11606829244 

 

McElhaney, K. & Mobasseri, S. (2012, October) Women Create A Sustainable Future. UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.  retrieved December 9, 2020, from  https://www.eticanews.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Report-Women_Create_Sustainable_Value.pdf

 

Chen, J., Leung, W., Song, W., & Goergen, M. (2019, September 12)  Research: When Women Are on Boards, Male CEOs Are Less Overconfident.  hbr.org.  Retrieved December 9, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2019/09/research-when-women-are-on-boards-male-ceos-are-less-overconfident?ab=at_articlepage_whattoreadnext

 

Lee, A. (2020, September 22)  Diversity Matters, Disclosure Works, and the SEC Can Do More.  sec.gov.  Retrieved December 9, 2020, from https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/lee-cii-2020-conference-20200922#_ftn5

 

Cutter, C. (2020, December 7)  Companies Face New Pressures to Diversify Boards. It’s Sensitive.

 wsj.com.  Retrieved December 9, 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-face-new-pressures-to-diversify-boards-its-sensitive-11607380004

 

Did you buy turkey insurance this year? Or just check for recipes online?

 

In case you missed it, Progressive partnered with Whole Foods to offer turkey insurance for Thanksgiving.  It was probably a great idea given how many first timers were cooking this year.  Anyone who bought their turkey at Whole Foods by November 22 was eligible to participate.  And the first 1000 turkey fails received a $35 gift card.  Very cute.  And all the major news outlets covered the story. (Tyko, 2020)

 

It appears that many novice cooks also turned to the Internet for advice.  Allrecipes.com had its largest number of site visits ever on both Thanksgiving Eve (12.8 million, up 14.9% vs. year ago) and Thanksgiving Day (14.3 million, up 26.7% vs. year ago).

 

The statistics from the site also showed that gatherings were smaller, with recipes for turkey breast up 96% versus year ago and whole chicken recipes up 150% versus year ago.

 

And, if you were looking for proof that these were new cooks, note that recipes that included the word "basic" were up 27% and those with "beginner" in their titles were up 83%. (Guaglione, 2020)

 

Did you hear about the Progressive/Whole Foods turkey insurance?  Do you think the campaign was successful?  Did you participate?

 

What about looking online for cooking advice and ideas?  Did you visit Allrecipes.com?  A different cooking site?  Or maybe you watched Binging with Babish on YouTube? 

 

What do you think about "beginner" vs. "basic?"  Did you look for either term in your searches?  Why do you think views were up more for "beginner" than "basic?"

 

 

Tyko, K. (2020, November 10)  Insure your turkey for holiday fails? Whole Foods and Progressive offering 'Thanksgiving Turkey Protection Plan'  usatoday.com.  Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/11/10/thanksgiving-turkey-whole-foods-progressive-insurance-protection-plan/6239911002/

 

Guaglione, S. (2020, November 30)  Allrecipes.com Hits Nearly 60M Visits During Thanksgiving Week.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved December 1, 2020, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/358223/allrecipescom-hits-nearly-60m-visits-during-thank.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=120600&hashid=NP_mYr1corR1rsVdWTtA9zohHug