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Why You Need to Get Off Your Butt Right Now
New research reveals just about any movement battles the deadly effects of sitting around
Your brain and body suffer and your life is likely to be shorter if you sit around too much. We all know that. But exercise is, well, hard. Good news: A daily dose of physical activity of just about any sort — from gardening or dancing to walking or active sports — can significantly counteract those negative effects, a new study finds.
The new research, detailed in a special issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, provide the basis for updated recommendations on physical activity from the World Health Organization (WHO) that aim to encourage everyone, including children, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions or disabilities to move more, for at least a measly half-hour each day.
The benefits are far-reaching:
“Regular physical activity is key to preventing and helping to manage heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and cancer, as well as reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, reducing cognitive decline, improving memory and boosting brain health,” according to a WHO statement. “Being physically active is critical for health and well-being — it can help to add years to life and life to years,” says WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Every move counts, especially now as we manage the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must all move every day — safely and creatively.”
Counteracting the effects of sitting
The study, based on data from 44,000 middle-aged and older people wearing activity trackers, found that sitting for 10 hours or more a day significantly raised the risk of premature death, especially for people who were relatively sedentary the other 14 hours in a day. That confirms previous research on the ills of inactivity.
However, people who sit this much yet also do about a half-hour of moderate to vigorous physical…
