How to avoid the health risks of sitting all day?

A new study published by researchers in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise concluded that walking for 5 minutes every half hour reduces the harmful effects of sitting.

The researchers asked 11 healthy adults, middle-aged and older, to sit in a laboratory for 8 hours - which amounts to a normal work day - over five separate days.

On one of those days, the participants sat for a full 8 hours, with only short breaks to go to the bathroom.

On the other days, they tested a number of different strategies for diversifying sitting with some light walking.

For example, on one of the test days, the participants walked for one minute every half hour.

On another day they walked for 5 minutes every hour.

The goal was to find the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting.

In particular, they measured changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, which are two important risk factors for heart disease.

They found that brisk walking for 5 minutes every half hour was the only strategy that significantly lowered blood sugar levels compared to sitting all day.

In particular, walking for 5 minutes every half hour reduced the rise in blood sugar after eating by almost 60%.

This strategy also lowered blood pressure by four to five points compared to sitting all day.

But shorter, less frequent walks also improved blood pressure.

Even just one minute of brisk walking every hour lowers blood pressure by five points.

In addition to the physical health benefits, there were also mental health benefits thanks to the walking periods.

During the study, the researchers asked the participants to rate their mental state using a questionnaire.

They found that a five-minute brisk walk every half hour, compared to sitting all day, reduced feelings of fatigue, put participants in a better mood, and helped them feel more energetic.

They also found that even walking just once an hour was enough to improve mood and reduce fatigue.

People who sit for long hours develop chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and several types of cancer at much higher rates than people who move around all day.

A sedentary lifestyle also puts people at greater risk of early death.

But just exercising daily may not reverse the harmful health effects of sitting.

Because of advances in technology, the amount of time adults in industrialized countries like the United States spend sitting has been steadily increasing for decades.

Many adults now spend most of their day sitting.

This problem has exacerbated since the beginning of the "Covid-19" pandemic.

With the shift to remote work, people are less inclined to leave the house these days.

It is therefore clear that strategies are needed to combat the growing public health problem of the twenty-first century.

Current guidelines recommend that adults "sit less, move more".

But these recommendations don't offer any specific advice or strategies about how often and for how long you should move.

And work offers a simple strategy: Take a brisk 5-minute walk every half hour.

If you have a job or lifestyle where you have to sit for long periods, this behavioral change can reduce the health risks of sitting.

The study also provides clear guidance for employers on how to promote a healthier workplace.

And while it may seem counterintuitive, taking regular walking breaks can actually help workers be more productive than working non-stop.

More than 25 different strategies are being tested to offset the health harms of prolonged sitting.

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