A new study suggests that the key to longevity and health is to replace one hour of sitting each day with walking. The findings show that by doing this, the risk of early death is decreased by about 12% to 14%.
The landmark study by researchers from the University of Sydney was published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. It is the first study to determine the link of swapping activities like sleeping, sitting or walking and the risk of early death.
Lead author and Associate Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre said in a press release, "Previous research established the benefits of adequate physical activity or sleep and the risks of too much sitting, but this is the first to look at what happens when we replace one activity with an equal amount of another."
To land to their findings, they analyzed data from over 200,000 adults. They utilized statistical modeling of health-related data from the respondents who are from South Wales. The study lasted for four years.
Hence, they found out that replacing an hour of sitting with standing or walking is associated with 5% reduction in the risk of premature death. On the other hand, they also said that the risk of premature death was increased by 13% to 17% when an hour of daily walking or exercise was replaced with equal amount of time spent on sitting or lying down, Medical News Today reports.
Prof. Stamatakis added, "The results show that inactivity is an even bigger public health challenge than we initially thought. With the average person sitting watching two to three hours of TV a day, there is definitely scope for people to get off the couch and be more active."
The study, though it included a large sample size, have some limitations mainly because the basis of gathering data were through self-administered questionnaires that can promote over or under reporting.
