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A lot of modern people suffer from negative effects of sedentary lifestyle and a lack of daily physical activities. Those who spend 8-10 hours sitting at their tables or working stations are at very high risks of developing such serious health conditions as obesity, heart disease and other cardiovascular problems, type 2 diabetes, varicose veins and other vascular conditions, serious diseases linked to poor bone and spine health, and many many others. Many specialists would agree to the fact that sedentary lifestyle of modern people, along with chronic stresses, are the two most harmful factors which impose our health to very serious danger. Fortunately, more and more people understand the potential threat of being motionless all day, and they start working on their individual recovery program, which involves walking and doing some exercises, avoiding using elevators or public transportation, visiting gyms and getting involved in some regular outdoor physical exercises, etc.
According to the findings of a recent study, walking just for two minutes every thirty minutes of your working day can be of a great help to your health and substantially decrease your risks of serious diseases like type 2 diabetes. The conclusions of a research group from the University of Otago in New Zealand were published earlier this week in one of the issues of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 
For the experiment, 70 healthy adult participants were invited. During the first part of the experiment they were asked to lead a kind of sedentary lifestyle for a few weeks (in other words, the participants were sitting for 9 hours a day, just like millions of other people who work in the offices do). Also, their blood glucose and insulin levels were thoroughly monitored in order to see how sugars and glucose received from foods are absorbed in the body. In particular, the participants were given a meal-replacement drink, and their blood insulin levels were measured one hour, and then four and seven hours after the mealtime.
For the second part of the experiment, the researchers asked the participants to take some brief walks of moderate intensity for about 25-30 minutes before starting their daily 9-hour sitting routine. Certainly, after that the above stated factors were measured again and monitored for every single participant. Finally, during the closing part of the experiment, the participants were asked to get up and walk for just 100 seconds every thirty minutes of their sitting routine. As further analysis of the collected data has shown, such brief walking sessions every half an hour turned out to be the most effective in regards to preventing excessive body mass gaining and reducing the risk for diabetes. The scientists found out that after the frequent short brief walking sessions for 100-120 seconds, the blood sugar levels of the participants tended to go considerably lower compared to the ones after using no walking or just a single 30 minute walking session. Therefore, according to the report, brief walking every 30 minutes can help us stay more or less fit and substantially lower our type 2 diabetes risk.
‘Regular activity breaks were more effective than continuous physical activity at decreasing blood sugar and insulin levels in healthy, normal-weight adults,’ it is stated in the report. It is estimated that the risk for diabetes in modern people is actually very high, and according to the information published by the Diabetes UK company, currently there are about 2.5 million people in the United Kingdom diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and by the year 2025 the amount of those who suffer from this disease will have been increased up to over 4 million people. It is a known fact that high diabetes risk is also linked to a high risk for heart attack, losing vision, and many other serious health conditions. It is interesting that in 2011, the findings of one more related study were published saying that waking or exercising for a few minutes very often is also linked to increased levels of good cholesterol in the blood. This way, it is possible to lower the risks for developing the symptoms of heart problems and other serious cardiovascular diseases, as well as increased the lifespan.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
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