An hour a day might keep dementia and diabetes away.
A study that includes a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor as a lead author is receiving international attention for highlighting how the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle can be negated.
“Physical Activity 2016: Progress and Challenges” is a follow-up to a 2012 study that determined physical inactivity to be as important a modifiable risk factor for chronic diseases as obesity and tobacco.
The new study, published in the prestigious English medical journal The Lancet, shows that 60-75 minutes of moderate physical activity per day can offset the negative effects of eight hours of sitting at a desk – reducing the risk of dementia and heart disease, among other ailments associated with inactivity.
The study incorporated data on more than 1 million people from around the world and focused, in part, on how to facilitate physical activity in developing countries.