Just to review: past research has found that long amounts of sitting are linked to increase risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and premature death. However, many of these studies didn’t look at how regular physical activity fit into the equation. That’s where this recent study comes in. Published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, this new study examined the sedentary behavior, physical activity, and fitness among 1,304 men seen at The Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas between 1981 and 2012. The results: exercise does help counteract most of the negative effects of sitting all day. MORE: How To Burn More Calories At The Office Just as other studies have shown, more sedentary time was associated with an increase in heart disease risk (high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides) as well as obesity (high BMI, waist circumference, and percentage of body fat). But when researchers controlled for fitness, they found that more of the negative effects of sedentary behavior went away; sitting more athan 10 hours a week was only associated with a higher triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio (an indicator of insulin resistance). The takeaway: you’ve got to get some exercise, especially if you’re desk-bound most of the day. Researchers suggest getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and/or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly. Try these walking workouts to fill your quota, and if you have trouble squeezing exercise into your schedule, these 25 ways to fit in 10 minutes of exercise can help. MORE: The Ultimate Metabolism-Boosting Workout For A Flat Belly
