We know that spending lots of time sitting down isn't good for us, but just how much exercise is needed to counteract the negative health effects of s

Scientists Calculated How Much Exercise We Need to 'Offset' a Day of Sitting

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2024-09-24 18:00:07

We know that spending lots of time sitting down isn't good for us, but just how much exercise is needed to counteract the negative health effects of sitting down all day?

Up to 40 minutes of "moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity" every day is about the right amount to balance out 10 hours of sitting still, the research says – although any amount of exercise or even just standing up helps to some extent.

That's based on a meta-analysis study published in 2020 analyzing nine previous studies, involving a total of 44,370 people in four different countries who were wearing some form of fitness tracker.

The analysis found the risk of death among those with a more sedentary lifestyle went up as time spent engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity went down.

"In active individuals doing about 30-40 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, the association between high sedentary time and risk of death is not significantly different from those with low amounts of sedentary time," the researchers explained in their paper.