We know that sitting for long periods of time isn’t good for you, but how much exercise do you need to reduce the negative health effects of sitting all day?
Studies suggest that you need about 30-40 minutes of sweating per day.
Up to 40 minutes of “moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity” each day is about the right amount to balance 10 hours of sitting still, the study says.
it is based on meta-analysis A study published in 2020 analyzed nine previous studies involving a total of 44,370 people in four countries wearing some form of fitness tracker.
The analysis found that the risk of death increased among people with a more sedentary lifestyle as the amount of time spent engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity decreased.
“In active individuals engaged in approximately 30 to 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, the association between long periods of sedentary time and mortality risk was significantly different from that in those who were less sedentary. No,” explains the researchers. paper.
In other words, moderately intensive activities such as cycling, brisk walking, and gardening can reduce the risk of early death to that of sitting and doing nothing. Links can be seen in the accumulated data of thousands of people.
Although such meta-analyses always require elaborate dot-joining across separate studies using different volunteers, timescales and conditions, the advantage of this particular study is that it is not self-reported data, It relies on relatively objective data from wearables. By participants.
At the time, this study World Health Organization 2020 Global Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior, put together by 40 scientists from 6 continents.of British Journal of Sports Medicine (BHSM) also issued special edition We will post both the study and the revised guideline.
“As these guidelines emphasize, all physical activity is important, and any amount is better than none.” Said Emmanuel Stamatakis, Physical Activity and Population Health Researcher, University of Sydney, Australia.
“People can protect their health and offset the negative effects of physical inactivity.”
Fitness tracker-based studies are in line with the 2020 WHO guidelines, which recommend 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week to combat sedentary behavior. I am doing it.
Climbing stairs instead of taking elevators, playing with children and pets, participating in yoga and dancing, doing household chores, walking, and biking have all been advocated as ways for people to become more active. According to researchers, to quickly manage 30 to 40 minutes, start small.
A 40-minute activity window is consistent with previous research, but is difficult to recommend for all ages and body types. As more data is published, we need to learn more about how to stay fit even when you have to spend long hours at your desk.
“While the new guidelines reflect the best available science, there are still some gaps in our knowledge. Stamatakis said.
“For example, it’s not yet clear where the exact criteria for ‘sitting too much’ lie. But this is a fast-paced area of research and we hope to have an answer in the next few years.”
research published hereand 2020 guidelines are available herein British Journal of Sports Medicine.
An earlier version of this article was first published in November 2020.
