A new British study says that office workers should stand up for at least two hours a day and take regular walks to reduce health risks of having a sedentary lifestyle. The study, funded by the Public Health England and published in the Journal of Sports of Medicine, is the first ever study to deal with reducing health risks associated with too much sitting in the United Kingdom.
Lead author Professor John Buckley, of the Institute of Medicine, told ABC News, "For those working in offices, 65 to 75 per cent of their working hours are spent sitting, of which more than 50 per cent of this is accumulated in prolonged periods of sustained sitting."
Office workers who are advised to stand for at least two hours are those whose job nature are desk-based and those who spend long hours sitting down in front of computers. The researchers even recommended that standing for four hours is more beneficial.
They recommend that the number of hours should be gradually increased from just two hours a day to around four hours. Health experts are promoting this to prevent sedentary lifestyle among workers to prevent serious illness and premature death, Express UK reports.
Furthermore, they added that replacing sitting down at a desk with standing-based work or with the use of sit-stand desks and work stations. Also, for those who are having their breaks, they can stand up and walk around. This could lessen the burden of having health risks in the future.
Writing in the journal, the researchers said, "These interventions led to improvements in markers of health risk and also improved work productivity, quality, efficiency and a greater sense of collaboration among groups of employees."
Sedentary lifestyle is one of the culprits in causing the most serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
