Over the past few years we’ve heard all sorts of dire warnings about the effects of sitting. “Your Desk Job Makes You Fat, Sick, and Dead” is just one of the alarming headlines that have accompanied the news.
A report out Wednesday in the journal Lancet provides a somewhat predictable solution. It says the key to canceling out the dangers of sitting is to be active. What’s more helpful is the study’s formula that calculates just how much physical activity is needed to ward off the risks of sitting: it’s a ratio of one to eight. You must be active for one hour to make up for every eight hours staying put, which for most people equates to about 60 or 75 minutes per day. The activity doesn’t have to be rigorous—even brisk walking would suffice—and it can be completed in shorter increments.