Exercise May Reverse Negative Health Effects of Being Sedentary

Statistics show the average U.S. adult sits for approximately 13 hours a day -- a number that doesn't include sleeping. Whether you are lounging at home, commuting or even working, you are probably sitting. Unfortunately, all of this sitting can take a toll on your health, increasing the risk of heart disease and other illnesses. The good news, however, is that recent research suggests that exercise can reverse the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

According to a study conducted by researchers from the Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, Texas, exercising for two years will essentially reverse the harmful effects of leading a sedentary lifestyle. For the study, researchers recruited 53 middle-aged adults, all of whom were moderately health but had no history of exercising. Participants were then placed into one of two groups: one group performed an aerobic exercise that become more intense over time, whereas the other group performed a combination of yoga, balance training and resistance training three times a week.

So, what did researchers discover? They found that participants who performed the aerobic exercises experienced an 18% improvement in their maximum oxygen intake and a 25% improvement in the plasticity of their heart muscle. Surprisingly, though, participants in the second group didn't experience these same health benefits.

Based on these findings, researchers concluded that exercising four to five times a week offers the greatest benefits for your heart health. They also say the effects noted in this study showed a "reversal" of many decades of living a sednetary lifestyle.

"We found what we believe to be the optimal dose of the right kind of exercise, which is four to five times a week, and the 'sweet spot' in time, when the heart risk from a lifetime of sedentary behaviour can be improved - which is late-middle age," wrote the study's researchers. "The result was a reversal of decades of a sedentary lifestyle on the heart for most of the study participants."

Of course, heart disease is a major concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some 600,000 adults in the United States die each year from heart disease. While there's no way to completely eliminate the risk of heart disease, you can lower your risk by making some simple changes to your lifestyle, including eating the right foods and exercising on a regular basis.

This study was published in the medical journal Circulation.