The Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute has published research that shows workers, drivers and call centre staff who sit for protracted periods of time could improve their health by breaking up their sitting time with frequent activity breaks.

 

Researchers examined spikes in participants blood glucose levels after consuming a high-calorie meal and found their bodies were significantly more effective in controlling glucose and insulin levels when they performed regular two minute bouts of either light or moderate-intensity activity.

 

Repeated spikes in glucose, or blood sugar, are known to contribute to a number of negative health outcomes, including hardening of the arteries and cardiovascular disease. Insulin is important, because it plays a key role in controlling blood sugar levels.

 

Lead researcher, Associate Professor David Dunstan explained; “When we eat, we get rises in blood glucose. With larger and more frequent rises in blood glucose, we gradually accumulate damage to the walls of our veins and arteries. This increases our susceptibility to heart disease. So, we want to minimise these rises in order to improve our health outcomes.”

 

“In a controlled laboratory environment that mimicked the typical patterns of desk-bound office workers, participants who interrupted their sitting time with regular activity breaks, showed up to 30 per cent improvement in the body’s response to a meal containing glucose. The good news is that the improvements were seen even with light-intensity activity, which is the equivalent of strolling.”

 

The findings may also provide added support to the current Australian OHS recommendations that desk bound employees take a break from their computer screen approximately every 30 minutes to reduce eye strain.