Stand for at least 6 hours a day to reduce the chance of gaining weight

A new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings was led by the American Cancer Society and conducted by the Cooper School, the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. The study analyzed data from more than 7,000 adults who visited the Cooper Clinic in Dallas between 2010 and 2015. Most of them were fairly healthy, with no history of heart disease, stroke or cancer.

Among men, standing for a quarter of the day was associated with a 32 percent reduction in obesity, while standing for half the time was associated with a 59 percent lower likelihood of obesity. Interestingly, standing three quarters of the time was not associated with reduced obesity. For women, standing for a quarter, half, and three quarters of the time reduced the likelihood of obesity by 35%, 47%, and 57%, respectively. There appeared to be no association between standing time and metabolic syndrome in either sex.

Based on this study, clinicians and public health professionals should consider encouraging patients to achieve physical activity goals and increase standing time to prevent chronic disease. There is still insufficient medical and public health evidence for increasing daily standing time as a potential tool to improve health.

The research was published online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

This article is from ELSEVIER Global Pharmaceutical News