A new study from the University of Turku in Finland has found that sitting less can make a real difference to your health.
Spending just 30 minutes less time sitting each day helps the body use fats and carbohydrates more efficiently for energy.
This simple change could lower the risk of serious health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, especially for people who are not very active.
The research, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, shows that even small lifestyle adjustments can make the body work better. Many people today spend hours sitting at work, while eating more calories than their bodies burn.
This leads to extra energy being stored as fat, which increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. But there’s another hidden problem—too much sitting can also harm what scientists call “metabolic flexibility.”
Metabolic flexibility is the body’s ability to switch between burning fats and carbohydrates depending on the situation. A healthy body burns fat while resting and switches to carbohydrates after eating or during exercise.
But when this flexibility is reduced, blood sugar and fat levels can rise. Instead of using these nutrients for energy, the body stores them as fat, which over time can lead to weight gain and disease.
Dr. Taru Garthwaite, the lead researcher from the University of Turku, explains that a lack of physical activity and long hours of sitting can interfere with this process. To test whether small changes could help, her team studied 64 adults who were mostly sedentary and had risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
These participants didn’t start new workouts; instead, the researchers simply asked one group to reduce sitting time by an hour a day by adding more standing and light activity, such as walking or moving around during the day. The other group continued their usual routines.
The participants’ activity levels were carefully monitored for six months using wearable devices that measured sitting and movement time.
On average, those in the intervention group managed to sit 40 minutes less each day. However, not everyone met the full goal, and some people in the control group also ended up sitting a bit less.
At first glance, there weren’t large differences between the two groups in overall metabolic flexibility after six months. But when researchers looked more closely, a clear pattern appeared.
People who successfully reduced their sitting time by at least 30 minutes a day showed noticeable improvements in how their bodies processed fats and carbohydrates during light exercise. The more they stood or moved, the more their metabolism improved.
In other words, even small changes added up. Standing up for phone calls, walking around the office, or taking short strolls during breaks all helped participants’ bodies use energy more efficiently. These simple actions made it easier for the body to burn fat and keep blood sugar levels stable.
Dr. Garthwaite emphasized that the greatest benefits were seen in people who were inactive and overweight, as their bodies had more to gain from moving more.
She explained that while following the general exercise guideline of two and a half hours of moderate activity per week is ideal, even small steps matter. For people who spend most of their day sitting, reducing sedentary time by just half an hour can already improve metabolic health.
The findings are important because they show how simple daily actions can prevent long-term health issues. Many people think improving health requires intense workouts, but this research highlights that light, consistent movement can have measurable effects on how the body functions.
In conclusion, the study suggests that reducing sitting time—even by a small amount—can make your metabolism work better and lower the risk of chronic diseases.
The results also remind us that lifestyle diseases like heart disease and diabetes don’t just come from poor diet; lack of movement plays a major role. Making time to stand, stretch, or walk during the day may be one of the easiest ways to support long-term health.
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The study is published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
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