Door Bas Vreugdenhil
Having a dinner? Watching TV? Getting a break after exercise? These activities all have in common that we are used to do these things sitting in a chair or on a couch. A recent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine showed that prolonged sedentary time is associated with harmful health outcomes regardless of physical activity. This implicates that even if you are in a good shape and have high levels of physical activity, sitting is deleterious. However, persons with a lower rate of activity have an increased mortality rate compared to those with a higher rate of activity. One of the researchers advises that people should take a one to three minute break every half hour to stand up. So let’s stand up together twice or more while taking an exam!
Biswas et al., Ann Intern Med. 2015;162:123-132