Want to live longer? Cut down your sitting time by 71 minutes!

Zee Media Bureau

London: We have been told that taking regular breaks at work is not just beneficial for health, but is good for productivity.

Now, a new study suggests that reducing sitting time at work by 71 minutes per day can have positive effect in the long, which can help you live longer.

Taking frequent breaks to reduce sitting time at workplace can help you cut extra body fat, thus lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes and early death, says the study.

The results which were followed up for three months showed a reduction of 0.61 percent in body fat in study participants.

This was as a result of 71-minute shorter sitting time per day during working hours after one month.

Researchers from University of Southern Denmark, the National Research Centre for Prevention and Health and the University of Sydney conducted a multi-component work-based intervention to reduce sitting time and prolonged sitting periods.

The team analysed 317 office workers in 19 offices across Denmark and Greenland randomly put into the intervention or control groups.

The intervention included environmental office changes and a lecture and workshop, where workers were encouraged to use their sit-stand desks.

By wearing an accelerometer device, the researchers were able to measure results across a five-day working week.

After one month, participants in the intervention group sat down for 71 minutes less in an eight-hour work day than the control group. This reduced to 48 minutes after three months.

The study found that the number of steps per workday hour was seven percent higher at one month and eight percent higher at three months.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

(With IANS inputs)