Health impact of prolonged sitting ‘can be mitigated by short walking breaks’

A new US study has suggested that the well-documented health impact of prolonged sitting could be counterbalanced by taking short walking breaks.

The Indiana University research demonstrated that during a three-hour period, the flow-mediated dilation of the main artery in the legs was impaired by as much as 50 percent after just one hour among 11 non-obese, healthy men between the ages of 20 and 35.

However, those who took short walks for five minutes each hour of sitting were able to maintain arterial function at an even level, meaning it did not drop throughout the three-hour period, thanks to the increase in muscle activity and blood flow accounts.

Since endothelial functional impairments are an early marker of cardiovascular disease, this study could reveal a simple and easy way of preventing one of the key health impacts of sitting.

Saurabh Thosar, a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon Health and Science University, said: "The impairment in endothelial function is significant after just one hour of sitting. It is interesting to see that light physical activity can help in preventing this impairment."

This comes after a recent study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center showed that two hours of sedentary behaviour can be just as harmful as 20 minutes of exercise is beneficial.