IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TIME FOR MORE MOVEMENT TO IMPROVE YOUR WELL-BEING, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH.
Comparisons of sitting to smoking and advice on reducing sedentary time have both become common refrain. But how much do you actually need to reduce your inactivity to see health benefits?
According to a new study in Journal of Science and Medicine, just three months of moving an additional hour per day can provide meaningful changes to cardiovascular health and type 2 diabetes risk—particularly if that’s paired with more physical activity.
Researchers in Finland looked at 64 sedentary middle-aged adults with metabolic syndrome and split participants into two groups: One reduced sedentary behavior by an hour daily with increased standing and light-intensity exercise. The other maintained their usual routine.
Activity and sedentary time was measured through hip-worn accelerometers for three months. Researchers also tracked body composition, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and a specific liver enzyme that’s used in determining cardiometabolic health.
That research design is unique, because earlier studies mainly relied on measurement of these markers at the beginning and end of a study period, which doesn’t provide insight into how these behavior changes improve health over time, according to lead author Taru Garthwaite, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Turku.
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a39996162/reduce-sitting-time-to-improve-health-study/
