Break Up Sitting With Activity “Snacks”
We know that sedentary behavior — such as sitting at a desk for long periods of time — appears to increase the risk of developing chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Inactivity has also been linked to higher rates of obesity and muscle atrophy. Now, results of a recent small study suggest that interrupting those long stretches of inactivity with short bursts of exercise may help protect muscle mass.
Researchers at the University of Toronto assigned 12 men and women to sit for three sessions of seven-and-a-half hours each. They also asked the participants to interrupt the sitting every 30 minutes with two-minute bouts of walking or performing 15 body-weight squats — so-called activity “snacks.” After analyzing the volunteers’ blood samples and muscle biopsies (JC- they took blood and did muscle cell biopsies also. GN), the investigators found that these quick bursts of activity helped improve the efficiency of dietary amino acids to repair or replace old or damaged muscle proteins. Over time, this could help maintain muscle mass.
“Our results highlight the importance of breaking up prolonged sedentary periods with brief activity snacks,” say the researchers.
Source
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00106.2022
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