Walking For Two Minutes May Reverse Effects Of Prolonged Sitting, Study Suggests

Two minutes of walking may counter the negative effects of prolonged sitting, a new study suggests. This discovery is associated with the inadequacy of low intensity workouts to avoid the health hazards of staying seated for long.

Previous studies have presented that prolonged sitting may put an individual at risk of heart disease and early death. This is because 80 percent of Americans are unable to perform exercises as recommended, which is 2.5 hours of moderate workout every week. It looks improbable for people to resort to more physical activity over sitting.

With this, researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine conducted a study that delved into the positive health effects of a more realistic exercise regimen -- incorporating low intensity activities into short physical activity routines. The study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, or CJASN, involved the review of archives from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, in relation to the impact of long-duration low and light intensity exercises to the risk of death of individuals who are sedentary for half of their waking hours.

Low intensity workout includes standing, whilst light intensity workout includes cleaning, light gardening and casual walking. The data were obtained from 3,243 NHANES participants whose activity intensities were measured by accelerometers. It took the researchers three years before following up the collated results.

The researchers found that low intensity activities, in replacement of sitting for two minutes, does not have significant effects. Conversely, two minutes of light intensity workout every hour yielded a 33 percent lower risk of mortality. "It was fascinating to see the results because the current national focus is on moderate or vigorous activity,” said Srinivasan Beddhu, M.D., lead author and professor of internal medicine. “To see that light activity had an association with lower mortality is intriguing."

Light activities consume energy like other exercises, and when repeated many times in a week, can produce significant energy expenditure. An example is an hourly two-minute walk within 16 waking hours; this results in 400 kcal energy expenditure in one week, which is significantly closer to the amount of energy needed to perform moderate exercises, which is 600 kcal. The energy expenditure for low intensity activities in the same period of time is only 50 kcal. A total of 137 deaths were reported after the three-year study period.

"Based on these results we would recommend adding two minutes of walking each hour in combination with normal activities, which should include 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week," said Beddhu. Moderate exercises can provide higher benefits than low and light intensity workouts and are known to maintain cardiovascular, muscular and skeletal health. She added that further extensive trials that are randomised and interventional should be performed to confirm the health value of light activities over sitting.

Whilst exercise is highly recommended, the reality is not all people are able to perform vigorous exercises regularly. This study then suggests that even little changes in activity can have significant effects, said Tom Greene, Ph.D, senior author and director of the Study Design and Biostatistics Center at the Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

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