10 Minute Walk Counters 6 Hours of Sitting

Can a ten-minute walk reverse the effects of six hours of sitting? Researchers at the University of Missouri think so, at least in one respect. A U of Missouri news story reports that when researchers compared the vascular function of 11 healthy young men before and after a period of prolonged sitting they found that blood flow in the popliteal — an artery in the lower leg — was greatly reduced after sitting at a desk for six hours. Researchers then had the participants take a short walk, and found that 10 minutes of self-paced walking could restore the impaired vascular function and improve blood flow.