Fitness and Exercise

For those of us who work behind a desk, we’re doing a lot of sitting. 

All that sedentary time adds up, and according to a new study published in JAMA, there are health risks associated with sitting for too long. 

The researchers found that in order to counteract the negative effects of excessive sitting, desk workers are encouraged to do some extra exercise each day. 

“These findings suggest that reducing prolonged sitting in the workplace and/or increasing the volume or intensity of daily physical activity may be beneficial in mitigating the elevated risks of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease associated with prolonged occupational sitting,” the researchers wrote. 

Too much sitting comes with risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 500,000 participants who were enrolled in a health surveillance program in Taiwan from 1996 through 2017. Researchers collected information on the participants’ jobs, lifestyle, physical activity, and overall metabolic health, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that sitting down for large portions of the day wasn’t good for the participants’ longevity. The study showed that those who had jobs that required sitting for the majority of the day had a 34% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a 16% higher risk of death from any cause. 

Exercise can help

However, you can counteract these negative health risks with some added exercise. The researchers explained that by increasing exercise each day, mostly sitting workers can lower their mortality risk. 

When sedentary workers upped their exercise by 15-30 minutes per day, their mortality risk lowered to match another group in the study – those who are more active at work but aren’t physically active. 

Another option: take frequent breaks throughout the work day to break up long periods of sitting. The study found that individuals who alternated throughout the day between sitting and standing were also not at an increased mortality risk. 

“As part of modern lifestyles, prolonged occupational sitting is considered normal and has not received due attention, even though its deleterious effects on health outcomes has been demonstrated,” the researchers wrote. “Emphasizing the associated harms and suggesting workplace system changes may help society to denormalize this common behavior, similar to the process of denormalizing smoking.” 

Are you someone who sets their alarm for 5 a.m. to ensure you make your 6 a.m. workout? Or are you someone who gets all their work and responsibilities done throughout the day, and plans their workout for early or late evening?

Or are you someone embarking on a health journey and you’re unsure when to plan your exercise? Results from a recent study published in Obesity may be of help. 

Compared to those who worked out later in the day, researchers found that working out between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. was associated with better weight loss outcomes. 

“This is exciting new research that is consistent with a common tip for meeting exercise goals – that is, schedule exercise in the morning before emails, phone calls, or meetings that might distract you,” said clinical psychologist and behavioral weight management expert Rebecca Krukowski, PhD. 

Early workouts yield better outcomes

To better understand what time of day exercising yields optimal weight loss outcomes, the researchers analyzed data from over 5,200 participants enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2006.

Over the course of the study, the participants wore accelerometers to measure their activity levels for at least four consecutive days but up to seven days total. Then, based on when they worked out, they were put into one of three groups – morning, midday, or evening. 

The two primary factors that the researchers measured were body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. The study revealed that those who worked out in the morning had both lower BMIs and lower waist circumferences, on average. 

More to consider

It’s also important to note that other factors may have affected these results. For instance, participants who regularly worked out in the mornings were older – by at least a decade – than participants in the other two groups.

They also had never used tobacco or alcohol, had the most female participants than any of the other two groups, and also had the most amount of sedentary time of the three groups. 

While the findings from this study certainly provide insight into health, wellness, and weight loss, experts say that there is more to consider. 

“It is not known whether people who exercise consistently in the morning may be systematically different from those who exercise at other times, in ways that were not measured in this study,” Dr. Krukowski said. “For example, people who exercise regularly in the morning could have more predictable schedules, such as being less likely to be shift workers or less likely to have caregiving responsibilities that impede morning exercise. 

“Predictable schedules could have other advantageous effects on weight that were not measured in this study, such as sleep length/quality and stress levels. In addition, the ‘morning larks’ who consistently rise early enough for morning exercise may be biologically different from their ‘night owl’ counterparts.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Edith Cowan University is shedding light on an important exercise topic. Their findings showed that consumers who consistently exercise for shorter periods of time may reap more health benefits than consumers who do longer workouts less frequently. 

“If you’re just going to the gym once a week, it’s not as effective as doing a little bit of exercise every day at home,” said researcher Ken Nosaka. “This research, together with our previous study, suggests the importance of accumulating a small amount of exercise a week, then just spending hours exercising once a week. 

Getting consistent with exercise

The researchers had 36 young adults involved in the study. They were broken up into three groups to do different variations of bicep curls. One group did just six muscle contractions one day a week, a second group did six muscle contractions five times per week, and the third group did 30 muscle contractions one day per week. When they did the exercise, the participants were hooked up to a machine that measures muscle strength and thickness. 

The participants who did six muscle contractions five days a week ultimately had the greatest health outcomes. The researchers found that these participants increased their muscle strength by 10% and their muscle thickness by about 6%. Participants who did all 30 muscle contractions in one day improved their muscle thickness by just under 6%, but their muscle strength stayed the same. The group who did six muscle contractions once a week showed no improvements in muscle strength or thickness. 

“People think they have to do a lengthy session of resistance training in the gym, but that’s not the case,” Nosaka said. “Just lowering a heavy dumbbell slowly once or six times a day is enough. We only used the bicep curl exercise in this study, but we believe this would be the case for other muscles also, at least to some extent.” 

Though these findings highlight the importance of consumers being consistent with their workouts, the researchers also explained that taking rest days can be just as important. 

“Muscle adaptations occur when we are resting; if someone was able to somehow train 24 hours a day, there would actually be no improvement at all,” Nosaka said. “Muscles need to rest to improve their strength and their muscle mass, but muscles appear to be stimulated more frequently. 

“If someone’s sick and can’t exercise for a week, that’s fine, but it is better to just return to regular exercise routine when you’re feeling better.”