Study: An Hour of Physical Activity a Day Needed to Offset Dangers of Prolonged Sitting

By Stacy SimonResearchers from Norway and Australia have found that it takes an hour or more of moderate intensity physical activity every day to eliminate the increased risk of death associated with prolonged sitting time. That’s about 3 times the recommended daily amount of physical activity. The American Cancer Society recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week. But most Americans don’t get that much.The researchers looked at data from more than 1 million people in 16 studies, including the records of people enrolled in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. They grouped people into 4 categories, depending on how much physical activity they reported. The least active group reported getting less than 5 minutes of physical activity every day. The next group said they were active for about 25-35 minutes each day, the next group for about 50-65 minutes each day, and the most active group said they got about 60-75 minutes of activity each day. Examples of physical activity included brisk walking, or bicycling at 10 miles an hour.The study was published July 27, 2016 in The Lancet. The analysis confirmed that people who sat for the longest periods of time and were the least active increased their risk of death the most.People who sat for 8 hours a day but were physically active had a lower risk of death than those who sat for fewer hours a day but were not p...
Source: American Cancer Society :: News and Features - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Diet/Exercise/Weight Source Type: news