People bored of following sedentary lifestyle should start consulting their smartphones as it can help them get active and reduce chances of weight gain, a new study has claimed.
According to a pilot study, using smartphone reminders to prompt people to get moving may help reduce sedentary behaviour, increase activity and reduce chances of weight gain, higher body mass index (BMI) and obesity.
For the study, researchers Darla E. Kendzor and Kerem Shuval made participants wear accelerometers to measure movement and carry their phones for seven days.
Participants who reported more than two hours of sitting during the day received a message emphasising that long uninterrupted sitting is bad for health. It encouraged them to stand up and move around more. Over the seven day study period, participants had significantly fewer minutes of daily sedentary time and more daily minutes of active time. Accelerometers recorded 3% less sedentary time than control participants, equalling about 25 minutes of time spent engaged in activity rather than in sedentary behaviour on any given day .
"Smartphone prompts appear to be a promising strategy for reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing activity," the authors said. Adults in the US spend an average of about eight waking hours per day being sedentary .
The study appeared in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160125125606.htm
