What Doctors Don’t Tell You Australia-NZ – July 22, 2019

20 WDDTY | ISSUE 01 | AUG/SEP 2019 FACEBOOK.COM/WDDTYAUNZ

UPFRONT

Go for a walk—

it’ll help you live

longer

Don’t just sit there—do something, anything. Swapping

just 30 minutes of sitting for any activity can reduce your

chances of an early death by up to 35 percent.

And you don’t necessarily have to sweat it out at the

gym; gentle exercise—even just walking around—can

help you live longer.

“Physical activity of any intensity provides health

benefits,” said Keith Diaz, one of the researchers from

Columbia University Irving Medical Center who assessed

the health and activity levels of 8,000 people who were

at least 45 years old at the start of the study.

The researchers discovered that those who swapped

30 minutes of sitting for moderate to high-intensity

exercise reduced their chances of premature death by 35

percent, but even those who barely broke a sweat and

walked around saw their risk drop by 17 percent.

If 30 minutes sounds like a long time, even a couple

of minutes of moderate to vigorous activity still yielded

health benefits.

The discovery is especially pertinent to those who

spend long periods sitting, such as at work. It’s been

estimated that around 25 percent of adults spend eight

or more hours a day sitting. Even going for a lunchtime

walk could make all the difference, the researchers say.

In an earlier study, the same researchers had found

that people who sit for an hour or more without getting

up, even to walk around, had the greatest risk of an early

death. Conversely, those who sat for 30 minutes or less

had the lowest risk.

Am J Epidemiol, 2019; 188: 537–

HEALTH

FACT

Mindful practices

including yoga, tai

chi and qigong have

all been shown to

benefit brain

function.

UPFRONT