美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sitting all day can be deadly. 5-minute walks can offset harms

Sitting all day can be deadly. 5-minute walks can offset¹ harms

Transcript²

If you sit at your computer all day and then lounge on the sofa for more screen time in the evening, your health can take a hit. A body of evidence links sedentary lifestyles to an increased risk of diabetes³, dementia and death from heart disease.

And here's a wake-up call: One study found, irrespective of whether a person exercised, if they sat for more than 12-13 hours a day, they were more than twice as likely to die early, compared to people who sat the least.

A new study finds you can cut that risk with strikingly small amounts of activity.

Researcher Keith Diaz of Columbia University Medical Center and his colleagues set out to find out what's the least amount of physical activity a person must do to offset the health risks of sitting. They recruited volunteers to come to their lab and emulate⁴ a typical work day.

"They'd come in and sit for eight hours," Diaz explains. The volunteers were hooked up to continuous glucose⁵ monitors to measure blood sugar levels, and their blood pressure was measured, too. Then, the participants took walking breaks of varying lengths and frequency.

"We found that a five minute walk every half-hour was able to offset a lot of the harms of sitting," Diaz says.

The participants walked on a treadmill⁶ at a leisurely⁷ pace – about 1.9 miles per hour. "We were really struck by just how powerful the effects were," Diaz says. People who moved five minutes every half-hour, saw blood sugar spikes⁸ after a meal reduced by almost 60%.

"This is surprising to me," says Robert Sallis, a family medicine doctor at Kaiser Permanente, and the past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. It's well known that exercise can help control blood sugar, but he says what's new here is how beneficial frequent, short bouts⁹ of movement can be.

"I have never seen that kind of a drop in blood sugar, other than with medication," Sallis says. He says he's impressed by the findings, which are published in an American College of Sports Medicine journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

More than one out of every three adults in the U.S. has prediabetes, and nearly half of adults have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both conditions increase the risk of heart disease which is the top cause of death in the U.S. So, Sallis says many people can benefit from small, frequent movement breaks.

Each week, adults are advised to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity¹⁰ physical activity. The CDC says you can break this up into smaller chunks¹¹, 30 minutes a day, five times a week for example or even shorter breaks that are more frequent. "I think it's easier to find small amounts of time to get some exercise," Sallis says.

The pace of walking in the study was likely too leisurely to count as 'moderate-intensity' for most people, but Loretta DiPietro, a professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, says there are simple ways to increase the intensity, including walking faster. "Add some stairs in," she says. "Swing your arms," which will help engage more muscles.

Another tip: turn on some music, since the beat can prompt you to step up the pace. You may not lose weight with short breaks, but "this is a wonderful way to improve your metabolic¹² profile," DiPietro says, which is so key to good health.

DiPietro was not involved in the new study, but her prior research has also shown that strolls after meals help improve blood sugar control.

She explains the mechanism¹³ by which exercise leads to this benefit is well understood: When we exercise, our muscles require glucose – sugar – as the fuel source. DiPietro says when we contract our muscles, our bodies use GLUT4 transporter proteins which rise to the surface of the muscle cell and escort glucose molecules¹⁴ into the cell. So, physical activity helps to clear glucose out of the bloodstream into the muscle where it can be stored and utilized¹⁵. And this helps lower blood sugar.

At a time when employers are looking for ways to retain workers, DiPietro says encouraging movement during the work day has clear benefits. "The human body was not designed to sit for eight hours at a time," DiPietro says. "What employers can do is provide options for people," she says, such as encouraging walking meetings and promoting more flexibility¹⁶, which has become more common since the pandemic.

Employers should be aware that there's another likely benefit to short, frequent breaks: "People were in a better mood because they took those breaks," says Kathleen Janz, professor emeritus¹⁷ at the University of Iowa who focuses on health promotion¹⁸. She reviewed the results of the new study for NPR and noted¹⁹ that participants in the study felt less fatigued²⁰.

It's a reminder²¹ that moving our bodies during the work day isn't a waste of time, Janz says. In fact it could make us better workers and make us healthier at the same time. "It can be a win-win," says Janz.

1 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

5 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

6 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

7 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

8 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

12 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

15 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

17 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

18 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 fatigued   

adj. 疲乏的

参考例句：

• The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
• The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

21 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。