Sedentary lifestyles come with substantial health risks. But even small increases in our daily physical activity may go some way to mitigating these risks.
Lifestyle factors like physical activity, diet and sleep can lower the ‘biological age’ of your cells and tissues and reduce age-related physical decline.
Research is revealing that fitness trackers alone can be helpful facilitators toward changing a sedentary lifestyle but don’t motivate people to increase their physical activity.
Just over 10% of the world’s adults now live with diabetes and the COVID pandemic saw many people sitting down for longer periods – but small daily changes can improve health.
Tim Olds, University of South Australia; Carol Maher, University of South Australia, and Verity Booth, University of South Australia
Studies have shown a drop in physical activity for kids during lockdowns, which could impact their long term health. But their mums are getting more active.
Governments spend millions to try to get kids moving but these interventions may be short-lived, or only benefit a group of kids. Our program is cost-effective and can work long term.
Too much time sitting is linked to health risks, and also to lower quality of life. But in some contexts, such as reading, playing an instrument or socializing, sitting had positive associations.
Most people know the benefits of physical activity. However, we tend to be less aware of how damaging inactivity can be, even for short periods — especially for older adults.