New Delhi, A research has revealed that sitting continuously for 8.5 hours a day and 60 hours a week in office, home or while traveling can make you grow old prematurely and along with it can surround you with many diseases.
The important thing revealed in the research is that its effects cannot be reduced by doing moderate activity like walking for 20 minutes at a young age. Instead, an activity like running or bicycling for 30 minutes a day may help, but not completely.
Chandra Reynolds, a professor in the department of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US, said that “less sitting, more exercise, or both may reduce the risk of premature aging.”
The team included more than 1,000 people in the research with an average age of 33 years. Along with this, it included 730 twins to find out what effect sitting for long periods of time has on the cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) of young adults.
The participants recorded 9 hours of sitting per day, while doing between 80 and 160 minutes of moderate physical activity.
The results, published in the journal PLoS One, state that “the more someone sits, the older they look.”
Additionally, the team said that young adults who sat for 8.5 hours a day without any exercise had an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
“A short walk after work may not be enough,” Reynolds said.
On the other hand, people who engage in vigorous exercise, such as running or cycling for 30 minutes a day, have cholesterol and BMI measurements that resemble those of individuals 5 to 10 years younger, the research said. However even this is not enough.
Researchers have advised to take breaks in between work.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.