Cutting your couch time by 30 minutes every day would give you an energy boost by improving metabolism, according to new research.
It shows that reducing the time you’re seated can improve your body’s ability to utilize fats and carbohydrates for energy production.
Study author Dr. Taru Garthwaite explained that it’s particularly beneficial for people who are physically inactive and have an increased risk of heart diseases and diabetes.
Previous research has shown that mixing an unhealthy diet with a “couch potato” lifestyle is particularly hazardous, as energy intake can exceed the body’s energy expenditure, increasing the risk of diabetes and heart issues.
Such lifestyle habits affect the body’s ability to switch between fats and carbohydrates as a source of energy, known as metabolic flexibility.
“A healthy body burns more fat at rest, but after meals and during high-intensity exercise, the main source of energy shifts to carbohydrates,” said Garthwaite of the University of Turku, Finland.
“If metabolic flexibility is impaired, blood sugar and lipid levels can rise and, instead of being used for energy production, excess fat and sugars may be directed to storage.”
The study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, involved 64 sedentary adults with multiple risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.
The intervention group was instructed to reduce sitting by an hour each day by increasing standing and physical activity in daily life, without starting intentional exercise training.
The control group was instructed to continue their usual sedentary lifestyle.
Sitting and physical activity were monitored using accelerometers for six months.
“Our results suggest encouragingly that reducing sedentary behavior and increasing even light daily physical activity – for example, standing up for a phone call or taking short walks – can support metabolic health and potentially help prevent lifestyle diseases in risk groups,” said Garthwaite.
She says physically inactive people can benefit from even a small increase in physical activity.
The intervention group aiming to reduce sedentary behavior managed to reduce sitting by an average of 40 minutes per day.
As there were significant differences between the participants within the groups in terms of reducing seated time, the researchers also looked at the results based on the actual, achieved changes.
Those participants who successfully reduced sedentary time by at least half an hour showed improvements in metabolic flexibility and fat burning during light-intensity exercise compared to those who remained highly sedentary.
And the more the participant increased their standing time, the more their metabolic flexibility improved.
“The positive metabolic effects of reducing sedentary behavior are likely to apply mainly to those who are physically inactive and already have excess weight and an elevated risk of disease.”
“Even greater benefits can be achieved by following the physical activity recommendation of 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity each week—but even a small increase in physical activity is beneficial, especially for those who are not physically active.”
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