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While sitting and working for hours together in front of computers do not allow us to involve in a lot of physical activities, taking a break once in a while and walking a little bit or just stretching the body might help us negate the effects of sitting down for long hours, says the latest study.

Doctors generally recommend 150 minutes or more of vigorous exercise in order to be healthy. Sitting down without much body movement has been associated to a lot of lifestyle diseases including strokes, but a minute or two of exercise in between might just do wonders say scientists.

The body movements need not be even vigorous, say the researchers. A two minutes walk during a commercial break in a movie or simply standing up and bouncing on your heels itself is enough.

"People are watching television for up to four hours a day and spending 60-70 per cent of their time being sedentary, and that is because of our lifestyle and occupationsm," Dr Wilby Williamson, an NHS expert in sports and exercise medicine was quoted as saying by telegraph.co.uk.

"Reducing our sitting time ... makes us better at breaking sugars and fats down, which can help reduce our risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease," he added.

He further said that the risks of cardio-vascular diseases arising out of long hours of sitting increases when the TV watching or sitting habit exceeds two hours per day. There are some other studies which suggest that taking a break every 20-30 minutes could show a beneficial effect.