Health benefits of sitting versus standing

A new study published in the European Heart Journal has found that spending more time standing and walking in place of sitting could have numerous health benefits, including lowering your cholesterol and body mass index.

Julie Ward, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know that people who spend long periods of time sitting down have been found to have higher rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“According to national guidelines state we should reduce the time we spend sitting and this study adds to the increasing amount of evidence to support this.

“We are not saying you mustn’t sit down, but when you are break up sitting down for long periods of time. A common sense rule of thumb is to get up for five minutes every half an hour.

“You can also reduce your sitting time at work by holding walking meetings, getting outside at lunchtime and simply taking five minutes to stand up and stretch”.

For more tips on getting moving visit: bhf.org.uk