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The health benefits of exercise are widely accepted, but few people do the 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity the World Health Organisation recommends.
Cardiometabolic diseases are growing more prolific as lifestyles become more sedentary.
Which got La Trobe University Bendigo researcher Philip Shambrook thinking: is there a more achievable dose of exercise people could be doing, which will improve their health?
Under the guidance of supervisor Brett Gordon, Mr Shambrook is studying the health benefits of accumulating low-intensity exercise in short periods of activity.
Study participants will go for a 10 minute walk half an hour after every meal, each day, for a week.
Mr Shambrook is seeking volunteers to be involved for a total of five weeks.
Participants will be men aged 45 to 60 years who are not physically active and have not been diagnosed with cardiovascular or metabolic diseases.
Heart disease and type 2 diabetes are associated with cardio-metabolic conditions.
Mr Shambrook said almost a quarter of deaths worldwide were attributed to obesity, hypertension and hyperglycaemia – preventable, non-communicable cardiometabolic disorders.
He said inactivity was the fourth most common global risk factor for mortality in its own right.
Mr Shambrook received a scholarship from La Trobe University to complete the study, which has been going for a year already.
“I just want people to do more activity to improve their health,” he said.
The first part of the study tested the effects of 30 minutes of high, moderate and low intensity exercise on blood sugar levels 30 minutes after eating.
“At this very preliminary stage, low intensity activity might be as effective as high intensity,” Dr Gordon said.
The results from the upcoming stage will inform the final phase of the thesis study, which will incorporate exercise breaks into a large workplace for 12 weeks to test for health benefits and compliance.
July 10 marks the start of National Diabetes Week.
About 280 Australians develop diabetes every day.
People interested in getting involved in the study can call La Trobe University Bendigo on 5444 7316.