Taking a break from a sedentary lifestyle, getting up from your chair every half hour and moving around for about three minutes, can help improve blood sugar levels and overall health. This was suggested, in particular, by a Swedish study conducted by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet on a small sample of participants and published in the “American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism”.
A small improvement in blood sugar
deepening
The possible effects of just one session of moderate exercise
Specifically, according to the Swedish scholars, even a modest intervention of a few minutes twice an hour, in terms of physical activity, could be enough to obtain a small but evident improvement in blood sugar and blood sugar fluctuations. “Stopping a sedentary lifestyle has positive metabolic benefits, so it’s helpful not to sit all day, get up and move around,” said senior author of the study, Erik Naslund. According to what the expert found, in fact, more breaks during the periods in which you are sitting produce a series of benefits, although to obtain more significant ones, “most likely, a greater dose of exercise is necessary,” he added.
The phases of the research
But how did the researchers of the Karolinska Institutet come to this conclusion? Over a three-week time frame, the team of experts monitored 16 obese adults leading a sedentary lifestyle or pursuing a profession where they sat all day. Over 10 hours each day, a fitness tracker reported every 30 minutes to each study participant to get up and move. During three-minute bouts of activity, participants engaged in low to moderate intensity activities, including walking or climbing stairs. The scholars later monitored those who practiced these activities with a group that never took breaks. It emerged that the first reported lower levels of LDL cholesterol, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, and equally lower blood sugar levels. Plus fewer spikes and drops in blood glucose values. Researchers, however, reported that activity breaks were not sufficient to improve overall glucose tolerance. Value for which, obviously, the required physical activity must be more intense.
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