People who spend too much time sitting need to increase their daily dose of physical activity, the latest recommendations of the World Health Organization pointed out.
Being active is the key to a healthy life
We as humans are now spending too much sitting, and this not only shortens people’s lives but also negatively affects economies through increased costs of health care.
Based on recent studies, the latest recommendations by WHO suggest adding to the minimum amounts of physical activity as advised previously (150 minutes weekly), to counterbalance the harm caused by prolonged sitting.
Long periods of inactivity are linked to the risk of early death. But if people who have to spend 10+ hours daily sitting do more physical exercise and lift up their heart rate to moderate or vigorous levels of activity, this nearly flattens potential risks.
Any physical activity counts and helps a person to stay healthy, not only a certain type of exercise.
The latest advice comes after evaluating data from a study of over 44,000 people who were wearing activity trackers. It showed that people who spend over 10 hours daily inactively, such as sitting in front of a computer or a TV have a much higher risk of early death, especially if they don’t exercise at all.
However, if people who have to sit a lot during the day were doing 30-40 minutes of exercise, risks dropped substantially.
Climbing stairs instead of taking a lift is one example how one can increase the amount of physical activity during the day. Going for a walk, doing gardening or household chores are also things that contribute to removing the risks associated with sedentary behaviour.
The recommended limits by WHO is 150-300 minutes of moderate activity weekly or 75-100 minutes of vigorous activity.
People are recommended to start small and build up over time, increasing duration and intensity. Being active helps to lower risk of degenerative deceases such as dementia, and overall physical and mental health.
According to WHO, if all people followed the recommendations of daily activity dose, it could increase world’s GDP by 0.15%-0.24% every year from now until 2050.
In money equivalent, it equals to USD 314-446 billion annually.
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