Editors’ note: The following is an excerpt from Harvard Heath Blog.
Spending less time sitting and more time standing lowers blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight — all of which translates into a lower risk for heart disease. So says a study of Australian adults published in the July 30 issue of the European Heart Journal.
As part of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity, and Lifestyle Study, researchers monitored the activity levels of roughly 700 adults to determine how much time these volunteers spent sitting, standing, walking slowly, and walking at a moderate to vigorous pace. Results confirmed that sitting worsens risk factors for heart disease.
Every two hours a day spent sitting was associated with an increase in weight and waist size, as well as in levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. As you might expect, time spent walking rather than sitting not only lowered cholesterol and blood sugar levels, but also reduced waist size and weight. Perhaps more surprisingly, simply substituting two hours of standing for sitting also improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels.