Walking for 5 min/hour prevents negative health effects of sitting

In "Effect of Prolonged Sitting and Breaks in Sitting Time on Endothelial Function," forthcoming in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers from IU Bloomington report on a study that holds out hope for anyone worried about the health effects of prolonged sitting.

If you've heard that Sitting is Killing You, you probably have some low-grade continuous anxiety about the fact that you still end up sitting at a computer for most of the day, most days. But a five minute/hour slow walking break was shown to guard against the worst circulatory effects of sitting.

The study involved 11 non-obese, healthy men between the ages of 20 and 35 who participated in two randomized trials. In one trial they sat for three hours without moving their legs. Researchers used a blood pressure cuff and ultrasound technology to measure the functionality of the femoral artery at baseline and again at the one-, two- and three-hour mark.

In the second trial, the men sat during a three-hour period but also walked on a treadmill for five minutes at a speed of 2 mph at the 30-minute mark, 1.5-hour mark and 2.5-hour mark. Researchers measured the functionality of the femoral artery at the same intervals as in the other trial.

Short walking breaks found to reverse negative effects of prolonged sitting

(via /.)

(Image: ...and go (cc), Martin Fisch, CC-BY-SA)