Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/709569
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 II Outdoor Living SITTING too much can take a serious toll on your health, even raise your risk of early death. But if you're stuck in your chair at a desk job all day, don't despair – a new study suggests there is something you can do to reverse the dam- age. It comes down to fitting in an hour of walking or other physi- cal activity a day. It doesn't have to be a super-intense fitness routine to offer benefits, say the authors of a new study. Researchers from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo, Norway, and the University of Cambridge in the U.K. analyzed data on more than one million people drawn from 16 different studies. Their goal was to find out how many hours of physical activity would be needed to counteract the negative health effects of sitting on your tush all day at the typical eight-hour-a-day office job. Most of the people studied were over 45 and from the U.S., Western Europe and Australia. The scientists div- vied up data on them into four groups according to how active they were, ranging from those who were in motion less than five minutes a day to those who were able to fit in 60 to 75 minutes of physical activity per day. Their activities included brisk walking (at about a 3.5 mph pace) or cycling for pleas- ure (at almost a 10 mph pace). The increased risk of death linked with sitting for eight hours a day was eliminated for people who were physically ac- tive for at least one hour a day. What's more, the eight-hour- a-day sitters who exercised had a significantly lower risk of death compared to people who sat for fewer hours a day but weren't active, the authors found. Those who sat for most of the day were at the highest risk for death. The researchers say what they found was a simple recipe for better health. "Our mes- sage is a positive one: it is possible to reduce - or even eliminate - these risks if we are active enough, even without having to take up sports or go to the gym," the study's lead researcher, Ulf Ekelund, of the Norwegian School of Sport Sci- ences, said in a statement. But he noted that, unfortu- nately, only 25 percent of the people in the study exercised one hour a day or more. This is just the latest research to look at the health issues raised by sedentary lifestyles. A study out last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed less rosy results. It found sitting for prolonged periods of time increased the risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and early death even in people who got half an hour to an hour of exercise a day. It found sitting for prolonged periods raised the risk of cardiovascular disease by 14 percent, cancer by 13 percent, and diabetes by a whopping 91 percent. How to reverse the health risks of sitting Table + 6 arm chairs OPEN ALL DAY 4pcs Sofa Set €299 Now €250 €399 Not Assembled Iklin - Hamrun - San Gwann - Fgura - St.Paul's Bay www.jbstores.com E: info@jbstores.com T:23314301/3