Research
Adherence
High levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), specifically around 60-75 minutes per day, can largely mitigate the increased health risks associated with high sedentary behavior.
If you have a sedentary job, prioritize getting 60-75 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. This high level of activity can significantly reduce the health risks associated with sitting for long periods, although limiting sitting time itself is still beneficial.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
This review also found that associations for sedentary behaviour and cancer mortality were generally weaker... with hazard ratio’s largely attenuated in the highest quartile of MVPA... higher levels of MVPA (i.e. about 60–75 min/day) can largely mitigate the increased risks of sedentary behaviour.
Why this rating
Based on moderate certainty evidence from systematic reviews.
Source
New global guidelines on sedentary behaviour and health for adults: broadening the behavioural targets
Paddy C. Dempsey et al. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · 2020
DOI 10.1186/s12966-020-01044-0
clinical_guidelineCited 270×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Higher amounts of sedentary behavior are associated with increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality, as well as the incidence of CVD, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.Moderate
- There is insufficient evidence to set specific, quantified (time-based) recommendations for total sedentary time.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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