New research highlights the far-reaching health effects of movement, showing that even modest physical activity can influence well-being and disease outcomes.
Exercise is often treated as a lifestyle choice, but growing evidence suggests it may be one of the most powerful forms of medicine available.
Researchers at Wits University have found that movement can help prevent disease, improve recovery, protect mental health, and even influence cancer outcomes. Their work also reveals how quickly the body responds to inactivity, with measurable changes appearing after just a single day of reduced movement.
“Human beings are hardwired for movement,” says Demitri Constantinou, Professor and Specialist Sports and Exercise Physician in the Wits Department of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. “When we stop moving, our bodies start to deteriorate … and it happens rapidly.”
Constantinou’s team has found that even one day without activity can cause measurable changes in the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. “On the other hand, physical activity releases signaling molecules that influence cell metabolism, regeneration, and immunity. The effects are profound, and they start with something as simple as standing up.”
Sitting is the new smoking
“Any movement is better than none, so even standing instead of sitting makes a measurable difference to your health,” says Constantinou.
Research in the department looked at movement across a range of adults, including blue-collar workers, office employees, students, and people recovering from illness.
The findings showed that prehabilitation (preparing a patient for surgery by optimizing their physical and mental health beforehand) and exercise-based rehabilitation improved recovery, reduced complications, and raised quality of life. “Exercise before, during, and after illness is one of the most powerful interventions we have, and yet it is under-prescribed,” says Constantinou.
The opposite is also true. A sedentary lifestyle can be deadly.
Standing up for movement
Professor Philippe Gradidge’s research is enough to make a person stand up while reading. He has spent years studying physical activity, obesity, and sedentary behavior, including the effects of standing desks.
Gradidge says movement is not only about extreme sport. It is also about small movements that accumulate across a day, a week, and a lifetime. “In our studies, we have seen that small changes like walking, standing, or light stretching can meaningfully enhance both physical and mental well-being,” he says.
His team has shown that standing desks can improve posture, ease back pain, and sharpen focus among office workers. Structured walking programs have also improved heart health and mood among South African women. “Movement is medicine – and it works even in small doses,” says Gradidge.
He challenges common benchmarks often used by people following programs linked to medical aid behavior change schemes: “You don’t need 10,000 steps to start feeling better. In fact, emerging evidence suggests that as few as 2,000 to 4,000 steps daily can help reduce depressive symptoms.”
Gradidge adds, “In our studies, movement has helped people manage pain, regulate stress, improve health outcomes such as elevated blood pressure, and become more aware of their physical state and movement patterns. It’s not just about performance. Rather, it’s about participating in environments where people can move joyfully and safely, free from barriers.”
Most accessible prescription
Jon Patricios, Professor of Sports Science and Exercise Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences, believes that although small increases in movement matter, people should still aim to meet the World Health Organization’s guideline of 300 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise because of its many well-described benefits.
Patricios has done extensive work in this area, including with companies seeking to strengthen the role of exercise as medicine. In partnership with Discovery Vitality, Patricios recently served as lead author of a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that examined the effect of regular exercise on cancer.
“Knowing that as little as 60 minutes of regular weekly exercise may reduce the likelihood of cancer progression by 27% and death by 47% should encourage all doctors to use exercise as medicine,” says Patricios. “Regular physical activity is the most powerful and accessible prescription that we can give our patients.”
New sports complex
Wits University will launch the Wits Brian and Dorothy Zylstra Sports Complex in 2026, an advanced integrated facility for training, research, and clinical practice. The Complex is expected to offer world-class research and therapeutic facilities, including an aquatics center and a residence for elite athletes. It will bring together a network of health care professionals and scientists, including researchers, biokineticists, physiotherapists, and other medical experts, under one roof, with access for students and members of the public.
Dr Georgia Torres, a researcher in exercise and mental well-being who serves as the Chief Operations Officer of the Complex, says movement should be part of everyday life, including in low-resource settings where formal exercise is often difficult to access. “Movement gives people agency,” she says.
Designing a society that promotes movement
The challenge is to create communities that make movement easier.
“Our built environment isn’t designed for active living,” says Gradidge. “Pavements, parks, public transport – they should all invite movement, not restrict it.”
Parkruns that are free to access, for example, can make active living easier and more convenient in a country where exercise levels are declining.
Torres says the Zylstra Complex, together with Wits’ commitment to the Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity, which brings together researchers, policy leaders, and communities to embed movement into daily life, reflects meaningful progress.
“Movement is prevention, connection, and empowerment,” says Torres. “It’s the simplest science of all but the hardest habit to build.”
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