Daily 20-25 minutes of physical activity can reduce the risk of death from prolonged sitting: study

New research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine online, suggests that 20-25 minutes of daily physical activity might help counteract the higher risk of death associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

The study found that the current recommendation of 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous activity “is enough to counteract the detrimental health effect of prolonged sitting.

Looking at the data from activity trackers, it was found that if someone spent more than 12 hours a day sitting, their risk of death went up by 38% compared to those who sat for 8 hours a day. But this risk increase was only seen in people who did less than 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.

The analysis encompassed nearly 12,000 individuals aged 50 or older. These participants were required to have a minimum of four days with at least 10 hours of activity tracker data, with monitoring spanning a minimum of two years.

Additionally, they provided information on potentially impactful factors, including their gender, educational background, weight, height, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and their current and past medical history, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

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