Just 15 Minutes of Exercise Can Help Counteract the Health Risks of Sitting All Day

A new study suggests that for constant sitters, even taking a 10-minute walk every couple of hours can have a significant benefit.

For years now, the American Heart Association and other health organizations have been warning the public that sitting kills. Too much sedentary time increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, and death. Sitting has been called the “new smoking,” per the Cleveland Clinic, and a “silent killer,” per research.

A large new study, based on health data from nearly half a million adults, adds to those warnings, after finding that individuals who predominantly sit at work had a 16 percent higher risk of mortality from all causes, and a 34 percent higher risk of death from heart disease compared with those who predominantly did not sit.

A little activity each day, however, may go a long way toward cutting that risk. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, suggests that constant sitters who engage in an additional 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day could lower their likelihood of dying to the same level as people who mostly do not sit at work.

“The serious risks associated with prolonged occupational sitting can be mitigated by incorporating regular breaks and engaging in additional physical activity,” wrote Chi-Pang Wen, MD, PhD, with the Institute of Population Health Science at the National Health Research Institute in Taiwan, and his study coauthors. “Systemic changes, such as more frequent breaks, standing desks, designated workplace areas for physical activity, and gym membership benefits, can help reduce risk.”

Short Amounts of Activity Can Provide Big Health Gains

For the study, Dr. Wen and his collaborators followed almost half a million adults aged 20 and older living in Taiwan. The researchers recorded about 26,000 deaths over an average follow-up period of nearly 13 years. A total of 15,045 (57 percent) of these deaths were among those who mostly sat at work. None had cardiovascular disease diagnoses at the beginning of the study.

According to questionnaire responses, participants were categorized in three groups describing their sitting status at work: mostly sitting, alternating sitting and nonsitting, and mostly nonsitting. Study subjects also provided information describing their levels of physical activity.

Researchers noted that individuals mostly sitting at work had significantly higher risks overall than those alternating sitting and nonsitting, and those mostly nonsitting. The risks among the alternating sit and nonsit group and the nonsitters were similar.

The study results indicate that those who predominantly sit at work and engage in low physical activity — ranging from less than 15 minutes to 29 minutes daily — significantly benefited by adding a bit more movement to their day. For this population, an additional 15 to 30 minutes of daily physical activity slashed their risk of dying to a level equal to those who predominantly do not sit at work.

The findings support previous research showing how short bouts of activity can make a major dent in the likelihood of dying early for those who are generally sedentary. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that each week adults ideally get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination.

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