Smartphones may decrease sedentary time: study

New York: 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.

Researchers Darla E. Kendzor, PhD of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Kerem Shuval, PhD of the American Cancer Society explored whether smartphone interventions have the potential to influence sedentary behaviour.

Participants wore accelerometers to measure movement and carried smartphones for seven consecutive 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 and to sit less.

Over the seven-day study period, participants had significantly fewer minutes of daily sedentary time and more daily minutes of active time than controls. Accelerometers recorded three per cent 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 8 waking hours per day being sedentary. The study, supported by the American Cancer Society, appeared in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.