'Take a break, sticking to office chair can make you sick'

Sydney, Feb 13 (UNI) Office goers, do manage some time to stroll a bit as sitting for long hours on office chair can be injurious to health.

New Australian research shows too much of sitting down cancels the benefits of exercise and puts people at the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

But the good news is that pottering about the house or gently walking around the office while on the phone might be enough to keep you fit.

After conducting a study on 168 people, it was found regardless of how much moderate-to-vigorous exercise they did or their total sedentary time, those who took more breaks from sitting had lower waist circumferences, lower body mass indexes and lower levels of triglycerides and glucose in blood.

Higher levels of triglycerides, or blood lipids, have been linked to a heightened risk of heart disease and stroke. High blood glucose levels are linked to the development of diabetes, which itself is a major risk factor for heart disease.

''What this shows is there are benefits in just getting up regularly and interrupting your sedentary time,'' principal researcher Genevieve Healy of the University of Queensland said.

The study builds on work that is shifting the health promotion focus from purposeful exercise, such as jogging or cycling, to lower intensity activity throughout the day, the Age reported.

It has also been supported by US studies, which show the sheer effort of standing up is enough to double the metabolic rate and the amount of calories burnt.

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