Physical inactivity is one of the modern curses, and anything which reminds us that we need to move our bodies once in a while is to be welcomed.
A new study published on Wednesday by the American Diabetes Association in the journal Diabetes Care has highlighted the hazards of long periods of inactivity and concluded that sedentary office workers should take a break for a quick walk around the office every 20 minutes. This will help reduce the body’s levels of glucose and insulin after eating.
Glucose and insulin spikes
It has long been known that large glucose and insulin spikes after a meal is tied to a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes, and so clearly they are not good for us. But there is no clear conclusion as to any specific positive long-term health benefits to the practice of regular office walks.
But the study rather implies that regular activity breaks will bring down the glucose and insulin levels of an individual, which must by definition increase that person’s chances of avoiding diabetes. Since we are in the midst of a worldwide diabetes epidemic this can only be good advice to follow.
After a meal, glucose levels in the blood rise, and this is followed by a rise in insulin – this helps cells use blood sugar either for energy or for storage. After that bloodstream levels start to go down.
Those who suffer from type 2 diabetes are not able to follow this usual pattern. Their bodies no longer respond properly to insulin. Their blood sugar and insulin levels spike after a meal, and remain high.
“When we sit, our muscles are in a state of disuse and they’re not contracting and helping our body to regulate many of the body’s metabolic processes,” said David Dunstan, a professor at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
Dunstan studied a group of 19 overweight adults who did not exercise much. They came into a laboratory and sat for seven hours while having their blood sugar and insulin levels sampled hourly, and on different occasions were asked to remain sedentary or to take a few breaks of differing levels of exertion, sometimes drinking a high sugar / fat drink.
Getting up and doing some light physical activity reduced the total rise in glucose by an average of 24 per cent, by comparison to the group that remained sitting. The difference was almost 30 per cent when the activity was of a level of moderate intensity.
The results were similar for insulin.
Sitting for too long is bad for your health
Barry Braun, a professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, who was not involved in the study, commented:
“What’s shocking to me in these studies is not how good breaks are, but how bad sitting is.”
Regularly leaving your office chair allows the human body to “manufacture a better blood glucose profile” according to Dunstan. So just getting up and moving around using your muscles a little will help your body clear the glucose away.
A study published in August last year by an Australian research team highlighted the dangers of excessive sedentary television watching. It actually concluded that too much television viewing could seriously reduce your life expectancy.
Couch potatoes, and sedentary office workers be aware: human beings are designed to move their bodies!
