Woo, yet another batch of research has revealed how we’re all damaging our health and subsequently will just die because of it- literally. It’s been found that we’re up to 60% more likely to die prematurely if we’re sitting down in the office for 8 hours every day.
A Lancet study found that we now need to have one hour of exercise every day to combat an early death. Let’s be real, no one wants to die from working too hard do they? Scientists say that our modern sedentary lifestyles are now as fatal as smoking, while claiming that it causes more deaths than obesity.
Getting exercise isn’t always that easy, but luckily you don’t have to force yourself to a gym to combat these dangers. Lead scientist Professor Ulf Ekelund, from Cambridge University and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, said that: ‘We found that at least one hour of physical activity per day, for example brisk walking or bike cycling, eliminates the association between sitting time and death.’
‘You don't need to do sport, you don't need to go to the gym, it's OK doing some brisk walking maybe in the morning, during your lunchtime, after dinner in the evening. You can split it up over the day but you need to do at least one hour,’ he said.
These findings challenge those previously from The World Health Organisation (WHO), who recommended just less than half-an-hour of exercise a day to live a long healthy life. Unfortunately, it’s found that here in the UK almost half of women and one third of men fail to achieve the 30 mins exercise, let alone the rest.
Researchers from the Lancet study call for radical changes in Government policies to help tackle the fatal modern-day lifestyle of spending a day in front of a computer, followed by an evening slumped in front of the TV (don’t make me feel guilty for watching Netflix damn it.)
These changes include placing bus stops further apart, forcing people to walk longer distances to get to them; opening free public gyms in parks and closing streets to cars at weekends to encourage more sports. But for now, however, Prof Ekelund recommends: 'Take a five minute break every hour, go to the next office, go upstairs to the coffee machine, go to the printer... Build physical activity in your everyday life.'
In the epically motivational words of Sia LaBeouf 'JUST DO ITTT.'
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
7 actually Good 7 Minute Workouts You Can Legit Do Before Work
Insane new LA Fitness Trend Involves Watching Netflix In A Sweat Box
Follow Natalie on Twitter @nataliejourna
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.