Get up from your seat and start moving, or negative health consequences may befall you as a result. This is the message of experts from the American Heart Association to people in a statement. Being inactive or sedentary, the heart experts say, can lead a person to face a greater risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even increased risk of death.
"We don't have information about how much sedentary behavior is bad for health -- the best advice at this time is to 'sit less and move more," said, Deborah Rohm Young, Ph.D, as per Science Daily. Dr. Rohm is the chairman of the American Heart Association committee that made the statement on being sedentary. The statement was published in their journal, Circulation.
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According to a report published in NBC News, the American Heart Association recommended people to have at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily as their minimum goal of physical activity. Additionally, office workers who sit behind the desk are reportedly urged to get up from their seats and get moving every hour or so.
Still, Young was quoted as saying that a person's prolonged sedentary time can still have a negative influence on the heart and blood vessels even if he or she performs physical activities to compensate for inactivity. Young said that current data show that American adults have a sedentary period of around six to eight hours daily.
At present, the American Heart Association advises adults to have 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity every week, reported Reuters. As per the report, Young said people should know how long they spend their time sitting and make an effort to do more physical activity, adding that people at home should not be sitting on the couch all the time.
