AFP – From cancer to diabetes to heart attacks, sedentary behaviour can increase the risk of non-communicable diseases. The problem is that sedentary lifestyles are on the rise worldwide, in parallel with insufficient physical activity levels, leading to fears of serious effects on people’s health.
Researchers exploring the issue now report that any activity including working standing up – can be better for health than sitting down.
How much time do you spend sitting down each day? It can be difficult to estimate, but the time you spend sitting may well have increased with the rise in working from home and the advent of new technologies.
And this increase in sedentary behaviour goes hand in hand with a decline in physical activity, increasing the harmful effects.
In a report published at the beginning of 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that: “The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on physical activity levels in the European Union (EU). More than half of the respondents of the latest Eurobarometer survey claimed that they had reduced their level of physical activity – with 34 per cent being active less frequently and 18 per cent stopping completely.”
These alarming figures are prompting health professionals and researchers to identify new strategies to combat what some now see as one of the major public health issues of our times.
‘INTENSITY OF MOVEMENT MATTERS’
A team led by researchers at University College London, United Kingdom (UK), set out to investigate this issue, and more specifically, the impact on heart health of the various movements a person can make over the course of a day.
To do so, they analysed data from six studies involving 15,246 people living in five countries, using wearable devices designed to measure participants’ activity throughout the day, as well as their heart health. The behaviours taken into account included moderate to vigorous activity, light activity, standing, sleeping and sedentary behaviour.
But above all, the researchers sought to determine what changes in behaviour might have an impact on heart health, in particular, replacing sedentary behaviour with activity.
They reported that: “when replacing sedentary behaviour, as little as five minutes of moderate-vigorous activity had a noticeable effect on heart health.”
In their findings, published in the European Heart Journal, the researchers suggest that any activity, including sleeping or standing, was better for heart health than sitting – in other words, being sedentary.
In a statement, Dr Jo Blodgett, first author of the study from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health, said: “The big takeaway from our research is that while small changes to how you move can have a positive effect on heart health, intensity of movement matters. The most beneficial change we observed was replacing sitting with moderate to vigorous activity – which could be a run, a brisk walk, or stair climbing – basically any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, even for a minute or two.”
WORKING STANDING UP IS BETTER
The researchers also found that replacing sitting with 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity for a 54-year-old woman with an average body mass index (BMI) of 26.5 resulted in a 2.4 per cebt drop in BMI, a 2.5 centimetres reduction in waist circumference, a 3.6 per cent reduction in glycated haemoglobin – markers associated with heart health.
However, the researchers say that, although spending time doing vigorous activity was the quickest way to improve heart health, there are ways for people of all abilities to benefit.
They explain, for example, that using a desk that allows you to work standing up for a few hours a day can be beneficial in avoiding the sitting position, which is most detrimental to health.
Associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation James Leiper said, “We already know that exercise can have real benefits for your cardiovascular health and this encouraging research shows that small adjustments to your daily routine could lower your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
“This study shows that replacing even a few minutes of sitting with a few minutes of moderate activity can improve your BMI, cholesterol, waist size, and have many more physical benefits.”
