The many dangers of a sedentary lifestyle are well-known already. But did you know it can speed up the biological clock and accelerate the risk of chronic diseases? In a recent study led by Ryan Bruellman, University of Colorado at Boulder, it was observed that spending most of the time of the day sitting can affect health negatively, causing heart and other diseases.

Between spending time on long commutes, desk-based jobs and spending our weekends scrolling through digital content, we tend to sit or lie down a lot. This can make us prone to chronic illnesses.

Results of the study:

The study was conducted on 1,000 former or current Colorado residents, including 730 twins. It addressed the common assumption that people do not need to worry about their health till their middle age. Lead researcher Ryan Bruellman, in a statement, said that young adults have the common belief that they are bulletproof to the impacts of ageing. They think that they do not need to worry about their health till they are in their 50s or 60s. However, what they do in their young age matters a lot.

The research was conducted on adults between the age of 28 and 49. On average, the participants reported sitting for about nine hours every day. In extreme cases, some reported sitting for 16 hours in a day.

The two key indicators of heart and metabolic health – Body Mass Index (BMI) and the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TC/HDL), also known as the Cardiac Risk Ratio were checked in these participants.

Higher BMI and TC/HDL levels were observed in participants who sat for more hours in the day, even when they adhered to the recommended 20 minutes of physical activity in the day. Hence, the study proved that more we spend our time sitting, older we look in the health markers.

Antidote to prolonged sitting:

However, the study observed that vigorous exercise can help in reversing the ill effects of prolonged sitting. It was seen that people who performed intense exercise for at least 30 hours a day, showed health markers at least 5-10 years younger.

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