Gaby
You’ve probably heard that long stretches of sitting can raise your risk of dying early. A team at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo analyzed how much—and what kind—of exercise it takes to neutralize the health effects of prolonged sitting.
They found that to offset the harm from sitting 8 to 10 hours a day, 30 to 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise is enough. But any amount of activity—or even just standing—is better than nothing.
How Did the Scientists Discover This?
These findings come from a meta-analysis of nine previous studies that together included 44,370 volunteers from four countries. All participants wore fitness trackers during the experiments.
Results showed that the risk of premature death among sedentary people rose as their time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity fell.
People who did 30 to 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise a day had about the same low risk of premature death as people who weren’t sedentary.
In other words, moderately intense activities—cycling, brisk walking, gardening—can lower the risk of early death to levels similar to those of regularly active people.
Meta-analyses like this require careful consideration of many variables, but a strength of this study is its reliance on objective device data rather than self-reported activity.
What Does the WHO Say About This?
The study’s results were published alongside the World Health Organization’s Global Recommendations on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior. Those guidelines were developed by 40 experts from six continents, according to Science Alert.
Emmanuel Stamatakis, a researcher in physical activity and population health at the University of Sydney, said any physical activity counts and any amount of exercise is better than none.
“People can still protect their health and counteract the harmful effects of inactivity,” he added.
The Norwegian study’s findings line up with WHO recommendations that suggest aiming for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week to combat a sedentary lifestyle.
Experts also suggest simple ways to move more: take the stairs instead of the elevator, play with children or pets, try yoga or dancing, do household chores, walk, and cycle.
Stamatakis said the recommendations reflect the latest data but that gaps remain—for example, researchers still don’t know the exact threshold for “too much” sitting. He added that this area of research is evolving quickly, so clearer answers are likely to come.
The study’s conclusions were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
