Combat prolonged sitting with short walks

In recent years, the evidence that long hours sitting at a desk or on a couch is bad for one's health has mounted. But new research suggests a quick five-minute walk every hour can reverse the ill-effects of a person's hunched posture and sedentary nine-to-five routine.

The experiment looked at sitting's ill effects -- specifically at the consequences for blood flow, or arterial function. Participants who sat for three hours showed declining arterial function, as expected. But those who walked for five minutes once each hour were able to mostly mitigate that decline. The study included only healthy, non-obese men, ages 20 to 35.

American adults sit for approximately eight hours a day. The impairment in endothelial function is significant after just one hour of sitting.

The study will be published in the next issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.