Don't sit, walk for an extra two hours a day instead

It may just help you lose inches from your waist!

Losing weight is not that easy and if you plain dislike hitting the gym and working out, it's even more difficult. Diet alone can never help you keep those kilos away. So the easiest and cheapest way to lose weight is to simply walk or jog or run. All you need is a good pair of shoes and you are set. (Read: Sitting all the day? Here s what you should do!)

A new study emphasises that fact that walking or running not only does it help you shed kilos and improve your BMI but also improves the performance of your heart. Dr Genevieve Healy, senior research fellow at the University of Queensland said that time spent walking rather than sitting was significantly associated with lower levels of blood sugar and blood fats. However, the study also found that if you replacing sitting time with walking, it will significantly reduce your waistline and BMI. (Read: Surprising benefits of walking a 100 steps after dinner)

The study was conducted on 782 men and women between the age group of 36-80 years. The subjects were given monitors that determined how long each participant spent sleeping, sitting or lying down, standing and stepping that involves walking and running. The researchers found that if one spent an extra two hours a day walking than sitting, their average fasting blood sugar would drop by approximately 2 % and fats in the blood would reduce by 11%. Extra standing time also improved HDL (good cholesterol) levels in the body. It was also found that stepping for two hours rather than sitting would lower the BMI by 11% and waist circumference by approximately 7.5 cm. (Read: 11 ways you can use walking for weight loss)

According to Dr. Healy, the study helped establish the fact that if we strive to increase the amount of time we stand or walk rather than sit, it would benefit the heart and help improve the metabolism.The study appeared in the European Heart Journal.

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