How you can reduce the health risks of prolonged, daily inactivity.
If you spend many hours each day sitting in a chair, it’s a good idea to incorporate brisk walks into your weekly schedule. A new study shows that if you exercise for a few hours, you can largely neutralize the dangers of a sedentary life.
Research has shown how those who sit for 8 hours or more a day they can significantly reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular causes. That’s enough spend at least 2 hours and 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, such as vigorous walking.
These findings support the importance of moderate to high intensity exercise at least 20 minutes a day. “This is especially important for those in occupations that require long hours of sitting, such as drivers and office workers,” he said. supervising researcher Dr. Sandra Albrecht Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University.
New research Published in the medical journal Diabetes Care. It was conducted on 6,335 adults with diabetes who were followed by researchers for an average of 6 years.
Initially, participants were middle-aged and elderly over 50. They all reported how many hours a day they sat and how much exercise they did.
Findings
By the end of the study period, 1,278 people had died of any cause. 354 people died of cardiovascular diseases.
Sedentary life had a great impact on health. Those volunteers It sat for 8 hours or morep. per day and they did not dedicate at least 140 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity per week, they were 77% more losing their lives prematurely.
However, those who spend even 140 minutes a week on moderate-intensity activities have a 20% increased risk.
Physical activity was even more protective in terms of the risk of death from cardiovascular causes. In fact, compared to sedentary volunteers, this risk was:
- 3.5 times more in those who sat for 8 hours or more per day and did not exercise moderately even 140 minutes per week
- 11% less in those who were sedentary but did at least 140 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.
For example, as moderate intensity physical activities is considered:
- Walking with quick steps
- Water aerobics
- Doubles tennis
respectively, intensive activities is considered:
- Escape
- Swimming
- Fast bike riding
- Single tennis
- Basketball
New findings suggest that brisk walking and other similar exercises may be an “antidote” to the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, according to researchers.