Study: Too much sitting makes you resistant to the effects of exercise

July 25, 2019 Tim Aging & Health 1
Disclosure: Links to other sites may be affiliate links that generate us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology seems to show that people can become “resistant” to the healthy benefits of aerobic exercise if they sit too much.[1]

In this study, a number of participants were asked to perform aerobic exercise after 4 days of prolonged sitting. The metabolic impacts of that exercise (post-exercise triglycerides, glucose, and insulin levels) were then compared to exercise sessions done on days which included a 1 hour treadmill workout.

Can too much sitting make you resistant to the positive effects of exercise? It seems yes.
Young Smiling Business People on Meeting in Office. Group of Young Coworkers Sitting Together at Table in Modern Office. Business Team Working Together. Teamwork Concept. Corporate Lifestyle

The participants did not see as much benefit from exercise after the bouts of prolonged sitting.

The researchers call this condition “Exercise Resistance”.

What does this all mean?

It is probably wise to partake in physical activity (whether exercise, or otherwise) frequently – rather than sparingly.

You will get more benefit from exercise in this fashion.

Our article title “Sitting – The New Smoking?” contains practical ideas you can use to hit your physical activity goals on a daily basis.

References

1. Akins JD, Crawford CK, Burton HM, Wolfe AS, Vardarli E, Coyle EF. Inactivity Induces Resistance to the Metabolic Benefits Following Acute Exercise. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2019 Feb 14. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00968.2018.

Related Articles

No Picture
Aging & Health

Research Study: Counter the Effects of Sitting with 11 Minutes of Exercise a Day?

December 18, 2020 VA Worker Aging & Health Comments Off on Research Study: Counter the Effects of Sitting with 11 Minutes of Exercise a Day?
Disclosure: Links to other sites may be affiliate links that generate us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A new research study[1] shows that a mere 11 minutes a day of exercise could decrease the unwanted health consequences of sitting for several hours. Low levels of physical activity and high amounts of sedentary time are associated with higher morbidity and mortality risks. In contrast, other large-scale meta-analyses and cohort studies examining the joint associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviors suggest that high levels of physical activity attenuate or even eliminate the associations between sitting time all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Some older studies in 2016 suggested that if you do about 30 minutes of exercise most days but sit for eight hours at work a day, it is still [Read more …]

No Picture
Aging & Health

Sitting – The New Smoking?

February 20, 2019 Tim Aging & Health Comments Off on Sitting – The New Smoking?
Disclosure: Links to other sites may be affiliate links that generate us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Dr. James Levine, the director of the Mayo Clinic at Arizona State University says that “Sitting is the new smoking“. Smoking, once a popular activity, was not recognized as the extreme health danger it was, until many years later. And now sitting may be in the same category. At first, this sounds ridiculous. But there’s a bevy of studies backing this statement up – and a possible logical explanation for why sitting for long duration is unhealthy. First, we’ll spoil some of the surprise – it’s not sitting in particular, but extreme sedentary habits that seem to be the risk factor. Secondly, it appears that being sedentary all day, then hitting the gym is not an effective solution. The extended [Read more …]

1 Comment

  1. At 76 with increasing arthritis aches and pains i know i need to pay attention here. i’ve noticed i tend to sit more. As a lifelong exerciser i don’t want to undo the benefits i’ve reaped…..WILL POWER

Comments are closed.