To combat excessive sedentary lifestyles and their health risks, the French are now advised to leave their seated position more often, at work or at school, to walk for 3 to 5 minutes every half hour, according to health recommendations published Wednesday.

In front of a computer screen, television, or not, prolonged periods of sedentary lifestyle, where we remain seated or lying down while awake, increase the risk of developing diseases: type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, respiratory, osteoarticular diseases, certain cancers, recalls the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES).

However, a large proportion of French people remain too sedentary: adults spend an average of 7 hours a day in activities without moving (in front of a screen, in the car, sitting at work, etc.).

Getting out of your chair or sofa has been recommended by health authorities for several years. "Don't sit for too long: take the time to walk around a bit every two hours," summarized Public Health France (SpF) in 2016 after an initial assessment by ANSES.

Since then, various studies have demonstrated the benefits of more frequent breaks from sedentary lifestyles. During the 2020 lockdown linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, ANSES recommended getting up at least every 30 minutes, walking for 3 to 5 minutes and doing some movement, but this period of sedentary lifestyle was atypical.

To take into account the latest knowledge, ANSES, contacted by the Ministry of Health, reviewed more than 75 robust studies on the benefits of activities that break up a sedentary lifestyle.

The result: "walking for 5 minutes every 30 minutes, at low to moderate intensity, improves metabolic parameters, such as blood sugar or insulin levels," according to his new expertise.

"But it's not enough to get up, walk around the office, and sit back down: the break from sedentary lifestyle must last 3 to 5 minutes and sufficiently mobilize motor skills, like a brisk 3 to 5-minute walk," Irène Margaritis, deputy director of food, animal and plant health at ANSES – and an experienced mountaineer – explains to AFP.

For children, "high-intensity" activity of three minutes every half hour would be even "more beneficial," the agency said.

Changing collective culture

"Children need to move," and "their spontaneous activity is significantly higher than their activity during a school day," the expert emphasizes.

Regularly leaving a sitting position also benefits cognitive functions, according to studies: attention, reaction time, mood improve, and the feeling of fatigue decreases, regardless of walking speed.

Other levers besides walking (cycling, stairs, muscle strengthening, etc.) have interesting physiological effects. "But we don't have enough robust data to make specific recommendations," notes Irène Margaritis.

Work, school, home: breaking a sedentary lifestyle is recommended everywhere, for example by preferring the stairs to the elevator, talking while walking, working at a sit-stand desk, etc.

Beyond these individual behaviors, creating environments more conducive to an active lifestyle is crucial.

"For the moment, there is no collective culture of breaking up a sedentary lifestyle: at work, in the tertiary sector, there are often long meetings without breaks; at school, children are forced into long periods of sedentary time, which is harmful and conditions them for the future...", notes the scientist.

However, to maintain your health, being less sedentary is not enough: you also need a good dose of physical activity. Getting around on foot or by bike, taking the stairs, and being active at home (housework, gardening, DIY).

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week (walking, swimming, cycling, etc.) or 75 minutes of intense activity (running, team sports, etc.), or a combination of the two.

Playing sports also allows you to act in a more fun way for your health, argues ANSES.