Study: Health risk from prolonged sitting
High with the butt! We spend most of the day sitting down.
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In the office, in the train or at home: We spend several hours sitting every day. This increases according to medical studies, our risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and obesity. Although regular sports support our immune system and provide a strong back. But a good fitness can not completely counteract the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. A study from the University of Chicago proves: We can not compensate for sitting time, but must reduce it.
In the gallery we reveal which exercises provide relaxation after sitting for a long time (10 pictures):
The study, published in early December 2012 in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, surveyed 91 women aged 40 to 75 over a seven-day period. This enabled the researchers to determine exactly how much time the subjects spent sitting, standing or moving.
A lot of sitting poses a health risk
The result: Subjects spent an average of 146 minutes per week on moderate to strenuous activities. During the day, they spent about 63 percent of their time sitting down. The researchers noticed that subjects who exercised an above-average amount of sports averaged just as long as unsportsmanlike women.
Despite the positive impact of regular workouts on their health, they are as vulnerable as the grumpy masseuse of chronic illnesses that are promoted by too long periods of sitting. Therefore, it is important not only to schedule workouts, but at the same time to spend as little time as possible sitting down, the research team concluded. How this can be reconciled with our often-sitting office jobs is a task that still needs to be solved.
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