Sitting for more than 8.5 hours a day or more than 60 hours a week while commuting to the office or at home can age you faster and increase significant health risks, a new study has found. The study was published in the journal PLOS One. The study showed that younger age or 20 minutes of moderate activity such as walking could not reduce the effects.

Instead, vigorous activity such as running or bicycling for 30 minutes daily may help, but not completely. “Reducing the risk may require less sitting throughout the day, more vigorous exercise, or a combination of the two,” said lead author Chandra Reynolds, professor in the department of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US. Premature aging in early adulthood”.

“A quick stroll after work may not be enough,” Reynolds said, noting that “relationships are already emerging in adulthood.”

For the study, the team analyzed more than 1,000 people with an average age of 33 and included 730 twins to find out how sitting for long periods of time affected cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) in young adults. But what effect does it have? The data was from an ongoing study of more than a thousand former or current Coloradoans, 730 of whom are twins. Reynolds’ team focused on participants ages 28 to 49.

The participants sat for 9 hours a day while doing between 80 and 160 minutes of moderate physical activity. The results found that “the more someone sat, the older they looked”.

Additionally, the team said that young adults who sit 8.5 hours per day and exercise at or below current exercise recommendations may be in the “moderate to high risk” category for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

On the other hand, people who did vigorous exercise, such as running or cycling for 30 minutes daily, had cholesterol and BMI measurements similar to those of individuals 5 to 10 years younger. However, this was not enough.

According to a news release from the university, data from twins in the study showed that “adding exercise to replace sitting works better for improving cholesterol than adding exercise to sitting all day.”

The researchers suggest for people who sit a lot, try using a standing desk at work, get at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day or as a “weekend warrior” on their days off. Engage in vigorous workouts.

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