Attention


desk
shrimps

who
hunch
all
day
over
laptops:
Get
up
right
now
to
save
your
health
―
or
else.

According
to
a
July


study

published
in
BMC
Medicine,
moving
just
a
few
more
minutes
each
day
can
make
a
significant
difference
in
your
well-being,
lowering
your
risk
for
up
to
13
different
cancers.

In
fact,
squeezing
just
three
minutes
of
daily
vigorous
activity
like
jogging
or
rushing
up
stairs
could
significantly
lower
multiple
cancer
risks,
the
study
found.

Conversely,
the
more
you
sit
each
day,
the
higher
your
cancer
risks.
In
the
study,
participants
who
replaced
30
minutes
of
movement
with
30
minutes
of
sitting
increased
cancer
risks
by
8%.

“Every
movement
counts
in
the
day,”
said
John
J.
Mitchell,
the
study’s
lead
author
and
a
senior
research
fellow
at
University
College
London’s
Institute
of
Sport,
Exercise
&
Health.
“Our
movement
across
the
whole
24-hours
adds
up,
and
every
behavior
has
a
knock-on
effect.”

Why
Just
A
Few
Minutes
Of
Vigorous
Daily
Movement
Can
Make
A
Difference

To
figure
out
the
benefits
of
daily
movement,
researchers
measured
59,218
adult
participants’
daily
activity
with
smartwatches
that
tracked
how
fast
they
moved
and
if
they
were
sitting,
reclining
or
standing
for
a
week.

The
researchers
then
analyzed
medical
records
eight
years
after
people
participated
in
the
activity
tracker
study
to
see
whether
they
got
13
cancers
associated
with
physical
inactivity,
including
bladder,
breast,
bowel,
kidney
and
stomach
cancers.
From
there,
the
researchers
created
statistical
models
to
see
whether
replacing
sedentary
time
with
more
daily
movements
would
theoretically
lower
those
cancer
risks.

Moving
at
any
intensity
was
better
at
lowering
participants’
cancer
risks
than
sedentary
behavior,
but
adding
more
vigorous
movements
was
the
most
effective
at
lowering
cancer
risks.

Mitchell
said
that
“replacing
sitting
time
in
our
day
with
any
movement,
or
even
standing,
could
add
up
to
reduce
our
risk
of
cancer,
but
with
perhaps
the
most
theoretical
benefits
observed
from
building
in
even
just
a
few
minutes
of
more
intensive
activities
into
our
day.”

This
study
adds
to
a


larger
body
of
research
which
shows
that
daily
walks
and
short
bursts
of
moderate
activity
are
very
good
for
us.

“Our
physiology
favors
moving
intermittently
in
healthy
postures
throughout
the
day,”
said
Alan
Hedge,
an
ergonomics
expert
and
professor
emeritus
for
the
human
centered
design
department
at
Cornell
University.
Hedge

was
not
affiliated
with
the
study.
“This
new
research
adds
another
dimension
to
the
arguments
against
a
sedentary
lifestyle
and
the
detrimental
health
effects
of
oversitting.”

Why
does
moving
your
body
with
more
intensity
help
with
lowering
cancer
risk?
One
reason
may
be
because
“moderate
or
vigorous
activities
trigger
positive
physiological
mechanisms
such
as
reducing
inflammation
and
cutting
diabetes
risk,
and
improving
the
cardiovascular
system,
which
are
all
important,”
Mitchell
suggested.

But
know
that
you
don’t
need
to
be
working
out
at
a
gym
to
get
those
potential
cancer-reducing
benefits.
Simply
choose
more
activities
throughout
your
day
that
get
your
body
up
and
moving.

Mitchell
noted
that
beneficial
higher
intensity
movements
participants
had
could
have
come
from
dedicated
exercise
time,
but
even
everyday
vigorous
movements
like
rushing
for
a
bus,
or
up
the
stairs,
or
playing
with
children
“are
just
as
important
for
cutting
risk.”

So
the
next
time
you
spend
a
day
sitting,
remember
to
get
up
to
take
a
break
to
walk
your
dog,
stroll
around
your
block
or
play
tag
with
kids.
Your
future
body
will
thank
you.