A new study giving disappointing results that the self satisfied feeling after a work out may be worthless. Women who exercise regularly actually spend as much time sitting down as those who don't get much exercise, and thus may be susceptible to a greater risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and premature death, the study reveals.

This study, published recently in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, set out to learn whether people who exceed the federal government's current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans -- getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week -- are less sedentary than are those who don't meet the guidelines.

"We spend the vast majority of our time not exercising," said Lynette Craft, lead author of the study and an adjunct assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. "It's important to think about how you spend your entire day and what you're doing in your non-exercise time."

For the study, 91 healthy women between 40 and 75 years old wore activity monitors designed to capture periods of sitting, standing and walking, and bouts of moderate and vigorous activity, over seven days. None of the women participating in the study had a personal history of heart disease, stroke, cancer or diabetes, or a physical condition that limited their physical-activity level. They wore the devices for at least 10 hours a day.

Although study participants spent an average of 146 minutes in moderate or vigorous activity a week, they still spent the majority of their waking hours (63 percent) sitting. Time involved in sustained exercise took up only a small fraction of time every day (about 2 percent).
"We now sit even longer than we sleep," Craft said. "Often you don't realize how much time you spending sitting every day."

Craft said she doesn't want to play down the value of exercise, but people need to do more all day long. "Even if you're exercising regularly, you still have an elevated risk compared to non-sitters," she explained.