To Your Health
August, 2016 (Vol. 10, Issue 08) |
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An Hour Is All It Takes?
By Editorial Staff
Can a mere hour or so of vigorous exercise undo hour after hour of
sitting at your desk all day? It can certainly help, suggests research that analyzed 16 studies representing more than 1 million participants in an attempt to quantify how much daily activity one would need to reduce the increased risk of death attributed to excessive sitting.
The most significant finding: "Daily sitting time was not associated with increased all-cause mortality in those in the most active quartile of physical activity." In other words, study participants who exercised the most were able to effectively offset their increased health risk from prolonged sitting (eight hours a day) by engaging in exercise. In fact, their mortality risk was no greater than study participants who sat less (four hours a day), but also engaged in high levels of physical activity.
According to researchers, approximately 60-75 daily minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity seemed to do the trick. On the other hand, participants who exercised less had an increased mortality risk by comparison, whether sitting for four or eight hours daily.
Whatever your job and the amount of time you spend sitting, the message is clear: Find time to exercise! Talk to your doctor for more information and advice on the best moderate-intensity activities you can do on your own or with the entire family.
