Exercising for as little as two-and-a-half hours a week can undo damage done by sitting down all day, a study has found. The study by the University of Leicester found that even moderate activity can be enough for a health boost.

    Sedentary behavior — any waking behavior with low energy expenditure while in a sitting or reclining posture — has been linked to ill health.

    But medics are concerned as many British adults now spend between half and nearly three quarters of waking hours sitting.

    Thomas Yates, who worked on the study, said, “It is possible for an individual, over the course of a day, to have high levels of physical activity and still accumulate large amounts of sedentary time.”

    The study published in BMC Public Health used data from the 2008 Health Survey to paint a representative sample of English adults.

    They were grouped as “Busy Bees” — physically active with low sedentary levels; “Sedentary Exercisers” — physically active with high sedentary levels; “Light Movers” — physically inactive with low sedentary levels; and “Couch Potatoes” — physically inactive, highly sedentary.

    Yates said, “Overall, adults who engaged in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, including Sedentary Exercisers, had more favorable health profiles compared to Couch Potatoes.

    “By suggesting that being physically active may offset some of the deleterious consequences of routinely engaging in high levels of sedentary behavior, this study further emphasizes the importance of physical activity in the promotion and maintenance of health.”

    Ph.D student Kishan Bakrania added, “This research is significant because it demonstrates yet again why physical activity and exercise is so important.

    “It shows that people who spend large amounts of time not moving either through work, leisure or lifestyle can counteract some of the negative effects of sedentary behavior by regularly exercising.”

研究发现，每周仅需2.5小时的锻炼，就可抵消终日久坐带来的危害。这项由英国莱斯特大学主持的研究发现，适度锻炼也能促进身体健康。

久坐行为指清醒状态下任何坐着或斜躺着的低能量消耗状态，与不佳的健康状况直接相关。

然而，令医务工作者担心的是，如今许多英国成年人每天一半到四分之三的清醒时间都是坐着的。

托马斯· 耶茨博士参与了此次研究，他表示：“个体可能在一天中既进行高强度的运动又保持长时间的久坐。”

这份发表在《英国医学会公共卫生》期刊上的研究报告引用了《2008年健康调查》中的数据，列举了英国成年人的不同类型。

研究对象被归为四个类型，他们分别是：“忙碌蜜蜂”— 运动充足且久坐时间短；“久坐锻炼者”— 运动充足但久坐时间长；“轻量行者”— 缺乏运动但久坐时间短；以及“沙发土豆”— 缺乏运动且久坐时间长。

耶茨博士表示：“总的来说，如果成年人每周至少进行150分钟中等及以上强度的运动，包括‘久坐锻炼者’，就能拥有比‘沙发土豆’理想的健康状况。”

“运动可以抵消日常久坐带来的消极影响，通过揭示这一点，此次研究进一步强调了运动对保持和促进身体健康的重要性。”

基尚· 巴克让尼亚是一名在读博士生，他补充道：“这项研究意义重大，因为它再次证明了运动锻炼的重要性。”

“它表明人们即便在工作或闲暇时不经常活动，仍能通过定期锻炼抵消部分久坐带来的消极影响。”

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【久坐的】jǐuzuò de sedentary accustomed to sit or rest a great deal or to take little exercise

【有害的】yǒuhài de deleterious injurious to health