Man at His Best

This Is How Much Exercise You Need To Do So Your Desk Job Doesn't Kill You

More cheerful news about your 9-5​.

BY Olivia Ovenden | Aug 1, 2016 | Fitness & Health

If you, like most of us, spend your average working day sat at a desk sending emails and chomping through ham and cheese sandwiches oblivious to the fact you're hurtling towards a premature death, listen up.

A study by The Lancet has shown that an hour of physical exercise daily is needed to offset the negative health impact from sitting at your desk all day. Astonishingly, the results found that sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day can increase your risk of premature death by 60 percent.

The study, which tested over one million people, found that one hour of activity—for example a brisk walk or cycling—significantly reduced the risk of death associated with a sedentary working day

Study leader Professor Ekelund suggests: "Take a five minute break every hour, go to the next office, go upstairs to the coffee machine, go to the printer, build physical activity in your everyday life".

They also called for changes in government policies, to encourage healthier working habits such as placing bus stops further apart to force people to walk further, which sounds pretty inconvenient if we're honest.

From: Esquire UK.