Sitting at a desk all day? It’s time to get up! Move!
Take a work break: A new study suggests that getting out of your chair every half hour may help improve your blood sugar levels and your overall health.
Every hour spent sitting or lying down increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, the study authors said. But moving around during those sedentary hours is an easy way to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the odds of developing metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that can lead to heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other health problems.
“Breaking a sedentary lifestyle has positive metabolic benefits, thus it is beneficial to not sit the whole day, to get up and move,” said one of the researchers.
A modest exercise intervention of three minutes every 30 minutes resulted in a small improvement in blood sugar and blood sugar fluctuations, the findings showed.
“More activity is better, of course, but this study helps to democratize the benefits of motion by showing the clear advantages of a dose almost everyone could achieve,” the study said.
For the three-week study period, the researchers followed obese adults who led a sedentary lifestyle or had a job where they sat all day. During 10 hours each day, a fitness tracker signaled every 30 minutes, reminding each participant to get up and move.
During these three-minute activity periods, the participants did low-to-moderate intensity activity, such as walking or climbing stairs.
Everyone is supposed to exercise for 20 minutes three times a week, one of the researchers noted, so at work, it’s a good idea to get up and move.”
Source: HealthDay
