Are you an employee who never gets up from his seat and focuses on his work in the same position for hours? Are you a student who struggles to get up even during breaks? According to a new study, sitting so much can do you serious harm. According to studies conducted by an international team of researchers, one of the most harmful movements for cardiovascular health is sitting for long periods of time.
Sitting all the time puts cardiovascular health at risk
Researchers listed ordinary activities during the day in terms of their benefits and harms to cardiovascular health. According to the results of a study conducted with 15 thousand people in 6 different studies, sitting all day is one of the worst activities that can be done. So much so that even lying down is more preferable than sitting.
Of course, this research does not mean that it is necessary to throw away all the chairs in the office and replace them with single beds. Instead, researchers recommend increasing the number of daily activities that will slightly raise our heart rate. Activities such as moving, climbing stairs, walking, and working standing up during the day have great effects on our health.
So, is it enough to work standing up or climbing stairs only occasionally? Not. Changes such as eating healthy, not using tobacco products, and reducing alcohol consumption are more priorities. However, it seems that increasing the level of physical activity also leads to a decrease in body mass index, a thinner waist circumference, a decrease in cholesterol level and glycated hemoglobin value, which is a marker of Type-2 diabetes. Moreover, this change is noticeable.
The lead author of the study, epidemiologist Jo Blodgett from University College London, said in a statement that instead of sitting, doing activities that increase the heart rate and intensify breathing, even for a minute or two, has a great effect.
The research was published in the European Heart Journal.
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