The reality is that many jobs today require workers to sit for hours on end in front of a computer screen. While computers, and technology in general, have been amazing for worker productivity, the act of sitting all day can be extremely damaging to ones health.
Sitting all day can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, inflammation and atherosclerosis. All of these sound horrible. And if you do work a job that requires you to sit in front of a computer all day, it is little nerve wracking not knowing how to prevent this.
New research has emerged, however, that has found that a simple two-minute break to move around every hour may counteract the negative effects of sitting. According to research at the University of Utah School of Medicine, those who moved for at least two minutes every hour had a 33 percent lower risk of dying.
Most of the current national focus has been on moderate or vigorous activity in order to stay healthy and prevent the health risks of the typical desk job. Dr. Srinivasan Beddhu, the lead author of the study and a professor of medicine, stated that “to see that light activity had an association with lower mortality is intriguing.”
During the study, a total of 3,626 participants wore accelerometers to measure the intensity of their activity during the day. They examined light activities such as walking around the office or going up and down a few flights of stairs. What they found is that “even small changes can have a big impact.”
Those with chronic kidney disease saw a 41 percent lower risk of dying in the time period studied, which was about three years on average. These participants were also the most sedentary, spending 41 minutes of each hour immobile, compared to 34 minutes in the group as a whole.
However, it is important to remember that two-minute bursts of light activity every hour should not replace the accepted federal guidelines for physical activity. It should be used as supplement to your 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week.
from Dr. David Hillam | Health Care http://ift.tt/1JMu8aD
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