Office workers urged to exercise
A leading Type 2 diabetes expert from Leicester has welcomed new research calling for sedentary office workers to exercise for at least an hour a day to stave off the risks from modern lifestyles.
Research on more than one million adults found sitting for at least eight hours a day could increase the risk of premature death by up to 60 per cent without any physical activity.
People spending hours at their desk are now being urged to change their daily routine to take a five-minute break every hour, or exercise outside of working hours for over an hour, on the back of the major analysis published yesterday in the leading health journal The Lancet.
Professor Melanie Davies CBE, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester based at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, said:
“With such a strong public health message and having carried out similar research ourselves, we are fully supportive of these findings.
“We have found that breaking up prolonged sitting with five minute bouts of standing or walking at a self-perceived light intensity significantly reduced sugar and insulin responses in women at high risk of Type 2 diabetes.
“Now we are taking that research in the lab a step further to see what exactly happens to very active people when they are forced to sit for a day.”
Last year the findings of a study, which was carried out at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, demonstrated the importance of incorporating breaks in prolonged sitting into otherwise sedentary lifestyles.
The research, which was led by University of Leicester researchers working for the NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), showed that sedentary women could prevent developing Type 2 diabetes by regularly standing up or walking.
Published in Diabetes Care, the journal of the American Diabetes Association, the research suggested that breaking up prolonged periods of sitting regularly with five minutes bouts of light movement every 30 minutes significantly reduces blood sugar and insulin levels in those that sit a lot.
Dr Deirdre Harrington, Lecturer in Physical Activity Sedentary Behaviour and Health at the Leicester of Leicester and NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit BRU, said
“As an office based worker myself I am heartened that my 60 minutes of running or cycling every day might protect me even though I have to sit all day at work doing research on this exact topic.
“The exercise I do brings so many additional benefits than just cardiometabolic improvements – I feel better, make new friends and have a better outlook on life. This analysis brings physical activity back to the forefront of the health agenda.”
The Leicester Diabetes Centre is an international centre of excellence in diabetes research, education and innovation led by Professor Davies CBE and Professor Kamlesh Khunti.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit (BRU). The NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity BRU harnesses the power of experimental science to explore and develop ways to help prevent and treat chronic disease. It is a collaboration between Loughborough University, University Hospitals of Leicester and the University of Leicester..
Notes to editors
For further details, to arrange an interview or more photographs, email oliver.jelley@ojpr.co.uk or Fiona.bailey@ojpr.co.uk or call 07803 003811 or 01604 882342.
Website: http://www.ll.dlpa.bru.nihr.ac.uk
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR is the research arm of the NHS. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world. For further information, visit http://www.nihr.ac.uk.
The NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit is funded by the NIHR. The BRUs undertake translational clinical research in priority areas of high disease burden and clinical need.
The NIHR Leicester and the Leicester-Loughborough BRU is a national centre of excellence in diet, lifestyle and physical activity. It harnesses the power of experimental science to explore and develop ways to help prevent and treat chronic disease.