The study, which included more than 1,000 people, is among the first to examine how sitting for long periods of time in young adults affects health measures such as cholesterol and body mass index (BMI).
EXERCISING IS NOT ENOUGH
Meeting minimum recommended physical activity guidelines, such as getting about 20 minutes of moderate exercise per day, was not found to be enough to offset the dangers of spending most waking hours on the couch.
“Our research suggests that sitting less throughout the day, exercising more intensely, or a combination of both may be necessary to reduce the risk of premature aging in early adulthood,” said Chandra Reynolds, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute of Behavioral Genetics.
He teamed up with Reynolds and Ryan Bruellman, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics, for the research published in the journal PLOS One. After the COVID pandemic, Bruellman noticed that she and other people her age were sitting more. He set out to learn more about the results.
“Young adults tend to think they’re insensitive to the effects of aging. They think, ‘My metabolism is great, I don’t need to worry until I’m in my 50s or 60s,'” Bruellman said. “But what you do at this critical time in life matters.”
WALKING AFTER WORK IS NOT ENOUGH
Participants reported sitting for approximately 9 hours per day on average, with some sitting for up to 16 hours. They reported engaging in an average of 80 to 160 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and less than 135 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. The authors note that these results are likely better than national averages due to Colorado’s active lifestyle.