Standing and walking can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes

If you need a substantial push to get your butt off the sofa then then new research might just be what gets you up on your feet. By walking around your house or your office for a couple of hours every day can help you reduce your waistline by 3 inches. People who spend lesser time sitting & more time walking have more chances of being thinner and healthier and even have a lower risk of getting heart disease or diabetes.

With the help of activity monitors, researchers studies 782 men & women for an entire week calculating how long they spend lying down, standing, sitting or walking.

This data was then compared with their height, blood pressure, weight & waist and blood samples were taken to check their fat, cholesterol and sugar levels.

The team from the University of Queensland found that persons who spent more time on their feet and less time sitting had lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol and less fat in their blood.

On an average, people spend 9 hours sitting, i.e., 60% of the time they are awake.

The study found that people who spent 2 hours longer walking every day instead of sitting had smaller waistlines by 7.5 cm & BMI which was 11% lower.

As per Dr. Genevieve Healy from the Queensland University, found that the time spent standing instead of sitting was associated with lower blood sugar levels and fat. Walking instead of sitting was even associated with a reduction in BMI & waistline.

The author says that office workers need to walk around while at work and make use of stand-up desks instead of sitting at a computer screen for hours.

Dr. Healy also added that the findings provided important preliminary evidence which suggested that increasing the time spent walking or standing instead of sitting can benefit a person’s metabolism and heart.

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Steve Smith

I got into writing back in 2007 because I had a little spare time on my hands and love to express myself through words. I started with a couple of blogs of my own but then realized that I could reach a much larger audience by guest posting on established websites instead. That's where I am today.