Get your rear off the chair
Toomuch sitting is bad for you, but a new study suggests short periods of exercise can help combat the damage.
The international study linked 10 or more sedentary hours a day with a significantly heightened risk of death, particularly among people who are physically inactive.
But the new research, which involved more than 44,000 people from four countries wearing activity trackers, found 30 to 40 daily minutes ofmoderate to vigorous physical activity substantially reduced the risks of a sedentary lifestyle, bringing it down to levels associated with very low amounts of sedentary time.
New Zealand experts are now calling for renewed efforts to encourage people to take exercise.
Advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on overcoming the damage done by sedentary lifestyles is included in its new global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. The guidelines were published yesterday in the latest edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The key WHO recommendations are:
Aim to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate, or 75 to 150minutes of vigorous, physical activity every week – or some equivalent combination;
Undertake musclestrengthening activity (such as weights and core conditioning) on two or more days of the week;
Reduce sedentary behaviour and aim to exceed these weekly recommendations to offset health harms of prolonged sitting;
Older adults (65+) should do physical activity that emphasises functional balance and strength training, while women should do regular physical activity throughout pregnancy and after the birth.
Professor Grant Schofield, the director of the Human Potential Centre at AUT University, said there had been no substantial commitment from the Government in the past decade or so regarding physical activity and health.
‘‘It’s clear that we need government-mandated leadership and funding from the very top,’’ Schofield said.
‘‘That means the minister of sport to fund and support a mandate to have Sport New Zealand once again take worldclass leadership in this space.’’
‘‘We need . . . funding from the very top.’’ Grant Schofield AUT professor