Continuous sitting: Walking for five minutes reduces risks

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MunichThose who sit too much are more likely to get sick. Walking five minutes an hour is enough to get the blood pumping and reduce the risk of secondary diseases. American researchers are now reporting this in a recent study.

Continuous sitting increases the likelihood of thrombosis and the development of chronic diseases. Older studies have already shown that sitting for four hours a day increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and even cancer.

Blood flow in the sight

A research team led by study author Saurab Thosar from Indiana University therefore investigated the question of how interruptions in sitting time affect the likelihood of developing thrombosis. To do this, they recruited eleven healthy men between the ages of 20 and 35 who completed two different tests. In a first test run, all participants sat for three hours without moving their legs. After each hour, the scientists measured the subjects' blood pressure and checked the function of the femoral artery using ultrasound. This tells you how well the blood is flowing through the blood vessels.

During the second test, the men also sat for a total of three hours. This time, however, they ran around after 30 minutes, after one and a half hours, and after two and a half hours for five minutes each. The researchers also measured blood flow and blood pressure here.

Sitting for an hour, poor blood flow

The comparison made it clear that sitting for an hour can impair blood flow by up to 50 percent. However, if you moved for five minutes every hour you sat, you could prevent the negative consequences of sitting. And this effect persisted even if the participants sat for three hours but kept getting up and moving in between.

When you sit, your muscles relax and blood cannot be effectively pumped to the heart. This then builds up in the legs and affects the function of the arteries and thus the blood flow. Movement, on the other hand, gets the circulation and blood flow going again and thus effectively counteracts thrombosis and arteriosclerosis. (jb)

Source: Short walking breaks found to reverse negative effects of prolonged sitting. American College of Sports Medicine. Indiana University Bloomington. 09/11/2014.

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