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A new study found that being sedentary for over 8.5 hours daily or 60 hours a week while commuting, in the office or at home can make you age faster and raise significant health risks. The study was published in the journal PLOS One. The study showed that a young age or 20 minutes of moderate activity like walking cannot buffer the effects.

Instead, vigorous activity like running or cycling for 30 minutes daily can help, but not completely. Chandra Reynolds, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US, and lead author said that “sitting less throughout the day, getting more vigorous exercise, or a combination of both may be necessary to reduce the risk of premature ageing in early adulthood”.

“Taking a quick walk after work may not be enough,” said Reynolds, noting that the “associations are already emerging in early adulthood.”

For the study, the team analysed more than 1,000 people with an average age of 33 and included 730 twins to explore how prolonged sitting impacts cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) in young adults. The data was from an ongoing study of over a thousand former or current Coloradans, 730 of who are twins. Reynolds’ team focused on participants aged 28 to 49.

The participants logged 9 hours of sitting daily while engaging in moderate physical activity between 80 and 160 minutes. The results noted that “the more one sat, the older one looked”.

Further, the team said that young adults who sat 8.5 hours per day and performed at or below current exercise recommendations could be in a “moderate to high risk” category for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

On the other hand, people who did a vigorous exercise like running or cycling for 30 minutes daily had cholesterol and BMI measures that looked like those of individuals 5 to 10 years younger. However, it was not enough.

According to a news release from the university, data from the twins in the study suggests that “replacing sitting with exercise seemed to work better to improve cholesterol than simply adding exercise to a full day of sitting.”

The researchers’ suggestions for folks who sit a lot, try using a standing desk at work, get in at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day or add in strenuous workouts on their days off as a “weekend warrior.”

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