Gaby
A University of Milan study suggests you might want to rethink your daily walking routine.
When it comes to walking for health, total distance may not be the point. The study found that breaking up long periods of sitting with short, frequent walking breaks benefits health.
What did the researchers find?
Sitting for long periods slows metabolism and makes it harder to regulate blood pressure and blood sugar. That raises the risk of chronic diseases, especially heart problems.
The team recruited 20 volunteers. During the experiment, researchers measured how much oxygen participants’ bodies used after short and long bouts of walking or using a stair climber. Activity durations ranged from 10 seconds to four minutes, according to BBC Science Focus.
They found that short bursts of activity used more oxygen and metabolic energy than longer sessions. “When we start walking, the energy expenditure is higher than after a few minutes of walking,” said Francesco Luciano, a doctoral student at the University of Milan and the study’s lead author.
That’s because after a few minutes of activity, the body becomes more efficient and heart rate stabilizes. In other words, starting to walk takes more energy than continuing to walk. The researchers suggest paying more attention to these short walking breaks in daily life. Doing so may help preserve cardiovascular health.
