How much exercise do you need to undo the harm of a life spent sitting down?

It’s important to offset all those hours in an office chair

Doctors worry about how little exercise people get – but a study found even moderate activity can be enough for a health boost

Exercising for as little as two-and-a-half hours a week can undo damage done by sitting down all day, a study has found.

The study by  found that even moderate activity can be enough for a health boost.
Sedentary behaviour – any waking behaviour with low energy expenditure while in a sitting or reclining posture – has been linked to ill health.

But medics are concerned as many British adults now spend between half and nearly three quarters of waking hours sitting.

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Dr Thomas Yates, who worked on the study, said: "It is possible for an individual, over the course of a day, to have high levels of  and still accumulate large amounts of sedentary time."
The study published in BMC Public Health used data from the 2008 Health Survey to paint a representative sample of English adults.

The study highlights the benefits of exercise

They were grouped as "Busy Bees" – physically active with low sedentary levels; "Sedentary Exercisers" – physically active with high sedentary levels; "Light Movers" – physically inactive, had low sedentary; and "Couch Potatoes" – physically inactive, high sedentary.

Dr Yates said: “Overall, adults who engaged in at least 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, including 'Sedentary Exercisers', had more favourable health profiles compared to 'Couch Potatoes'.

“By suggesting that being physically active may offset some of the deleterious consequences of routinely engaging in high levels of sedentary behaviour, this study further emphasises the importance of physical activity in the promotion and maintenance of health."
PhD student Kishan Bakrania added: "This research is significant because it demonstrates yet again why physical activity and exercise is so important.

"It shows that people who spend large amounts of time not moving either through work, leisure or lifestyle can counteract some of the negative effects of sedentary behaviour by regularly exercising."

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Health and life